Herman Egon, Prince of Fürstenberg

Herman Egon was the fourth son of Egon VIII of Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg and Countess Anna Maria of Hohenzollern-Hechingen (1603–1652). He studied in Cologne from 1639 to 1643, then spent two years at the University of Leuven. In 1651, he became a secret councillor at the court of Elector Maximilian I of Bavaria.

In 1655, his brothers Francis Egon and Wilhelm Egon, who were both bishops, left Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg to him, in exchange for monetary compensation. In 1657, he made a similar arrangement with his older brother, Ferdinand Frederick Egon.

The members of the Fürstenberg family were Imperial Counts. In 1664, Emperor Leopold raised Herman Egon and his brothers Franz Egon and Wilhelm Egon to the rank of Imperial Prince.[1][2]

In 1672, he advised the Elector of Bavaria against entering the Franco-Dutch war. This made him fall from grace with Emperor Leopold I. He died on 22 September 1674 in Munich and was buried in the chapel of the family castle in Heiligenberg.

In 1655, Herman Egon was married in Stühlingen with Maria Franziska of Fürstenberg-Stühlingen (d. 24 August 1680 in Weitra). With her, he had eight children:

• Anton Egon (23 April 1656 - 10 October 1716), succeeded his father as ruler of Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg
• Felix Egon (25 November 1657 - 5 March 1686 in Cologne), High Provost of the Electorate of Cologne
• Anna Adelaide (16 January 1659 - 13 November 1701 in Brussels), married Eugen Alexander Franz, 1st Prince of Thurn and Taxis
• Maria Franziska (17 September 1660 - 8 June 1691), married William Hyacinth, Prince of Nassau-Siegen
• Max Egon Ferdinand (24 October 1661 - 6 May 1696 in Paris), French general
• Emanuel Franz Egon (7 March 1663 - 6 September 1688 outside Belgrade), Imperial colonel; married Katharine Charlotte von Wallenrodt (mistress of his uncle Wilhelm Egon von Fürstenberg) in 1685[3]
• A daughter (b. and d. 5 June 1665)
• John Egon (25 April 1667 - bef. 1670)

• Ernst Münch and Carl Borromäus Alois Fickler: Geschichte des Hauses und Landes Fürstenberg, vol. 3, Aix-la-Chapelle and Leipzig, 1832;vol. 4, Karlsruhe, 1847, pp. 40-73 at Google Books
• C.B.A. Fickler: Kurze Geschichte der Häuser Fürstenberg, Geroldseck und von der Leyen, Karlsruhe, 1844, p.20 at Google Books
• O'Connor, John T. (1978). Negotiator out of Season. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press. ISBN 0-8203-0436-0.

• Portrait of Herman Egon in the portrait collection of the Austrian National Library