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Maximilian Egon II, Prince of Fürstenberg

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Maximilian Egon II
Prince of Fürstenberg
Photograph of Max Egon II, 1890s
Photograph of Max Egon II, 1890s
Head of the House of Fürstenberg
Tenure 1896–1941
Predecessor Charles Egon IV
Successor Charles Egon V
Born Maximilian Egon Christian Karl Aloys Emil Leo Richard Anton
13 October 1863
Lány, Bohemia, Austrian Empire
Died 11 August 1941 (aged 77)
Heiligenberg Castle, Nazi Germany
Spouse Countess Irma von Schönborn-Buchheim
(m. 1889; died 1941)
Issue Charles Egon V, Prince of Fürstenberg
Princess Leotina
Princess Anna
Prince Maximilian Egon
Prince Friedrich Eduard
Marie-Louise-Auguste von Almey
House Fürstenberg
Father Prince Maximilian Egon I of Fürstenberg
Mother Countess Leontina von Khevenhüller-Metsch

Maximilian Egon II, Prince of Fürstenberg (13 October 1863 – 11 August 1941) was a German landowner, investor and nobleman who was the head of the House of Fürstenberg from 1896 to 1941.

Early life

Born as Prince Maximilian Egon Christian Karl Aloys Emil Leo Richard Anton zu Fürstenberg, he was the son of Prince Maximilian Egon I of Fürstenberg and his wife, Countess Leontina von Khevenhüller-Metsch, a daughter of Richard, 5th Prince of Khevenhüller-Metsch. He had a younger brother, born in 1867, named Prince Karl Emil Egon zu Fürstenberg.[1]

Career

A close friend and adviser of Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany,[2] Max of Fürstenberg inherited territorial titles in Prussia, Austria, Hungary, Württemberg and Baden, and by virtue of them had a seat in the House of Lords in each of the five states.[3] Until the First World War, he was vice-president of the Prussian House of Lords.[4]

His principal residence was the Princely Palace in Donaueschingen, near the source of the Danube, where he owned large deer forests.[5] Emperor Wilhelm II frequently visited him there, and Max invariably accompanied the Emperor on his hunting expeditions and Norwegian trips. As well as his vast ancestral forests, he also owned coal mines, hotels and breweries.[6]

Although he was a member of the high Roman Catholic Uradel who had long stood aloof from party politics, after meeting Adolf Hitler and Ernst Roehm in November 1933, Max became enthusiastic about Hitler's leadership, commenting that "It was wonderful, to be able to meet such a great man".[2]

The same year, 1933, he joined the Nazi Party and the Sturmabteilung (SA). In 1938, he was appointed to the rank of SA-Standartenführer.[7]

Personal life

In 1889, he married Countess Irma von Schönborn-Buchheim (1867–1946), a daughter of Erwein, 4th Count of Schönborn-Buchheim, and Countess Franziska von Trauttmansdorff-Weinsberg.[8] Together, they were the parents of three sons and two daughters:[5]

He also had an illegitimate daughter, Marie-Louise-Auguste von Almey, by a liaison with Baroness Marguerite von Almey.[7]

He died in 1941, during the Second World War, and was succeeded by his son, Karl Egon V (1891–1973).[7]

Descendants

Through his daughter Anna, he was a grandfather of Maximilian, 9th Prince of Khevenhüller-Metsch, who married Countess Wilhelmine Henckel von Donnersmarck.[7]

Honours and awards

Ancestry

References

  1. Back to citation Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Fürstenberg". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 11 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 365–366, see page 366, third para. “In 1909 there were two branches of the princely house of Fürstenberg: (1) the main branch, that of Fürstenberg-Donaueschingen, the head of which was Prince Maximilian Egon (b. 1863), who succeeded his cousin Karl Egon III. in 1896”
  2. Back to citation occurrence 2.0 Back to citation occurrence 2.1 Eckart Conze, Monika Wienfort, eds., Adel und Moderne: Deutschland im europäischen Vergleich im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert, p. 136: "Es war herrlich, diesem einzig grossen Mann gegenueberstehen zu duerfen."
  3. Back to citation Otte, T. G. (2014). July Crisis: The World's Descent into War, Summer 1914. Cambridge University Press. p. 49. ISBN 978-1-139-99332-6. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  4. Back to citation Kohut, Thomas August (1991). Wilhelm II and the Germans: A Study in Leadership. Oxford University Press. p. 39. ISBN 978-0-19-506172-7. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  5. Back to citation occurrence 5.0 Back to citation occurrence 5.1 Röhl, John C. G. (2014). Kaiser Wilhelm II: A Concise Life. Cambridge University Press. pp. 28, 109, 111, 114, 121, 123, 136, 163. ISBN 978-1-107-07225-1. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  6. Back to citation Rines 1920.
  7. Back to citation occurrence 7.0 Back to citation occurrence 7.1 Back to citation occurrence 7.2 Back to citation occurrence 7.3 Back to citation occurrence 7.4 Back to citation occurrence 7.5 Back to citation occurrence 7.6 Back to citation occurrence 7.7 Back to citation occurrence 7.8 John Kennedy, John E. James, eds., Almanach de Gotha 2004, Vol. 1, p. 508
  8. Back to citation Horstkotte, Jo (28 September 2022). Das Fürstenbergdenkmal in Baden-Baden: Ein Engel aus Dankbarkeit und eine Engelswiese zum Entwickeln (in German). BoD – Books on Demand. p. 18. ISBN 978-3-7568-2475-5. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  9. Back to citation occurrence 9.0 Back to citation occurrence 9.1 "Hofstaat: Seiner Majestät des Kaisers und Königs", Handbuch über den Königlich Preußischen Hof und Staat, Berlin, 1918, p. 11, archived from the original on 2021-05-15, retrieved 2025-12-22
  10. Back to citation "Rother Adler-orden", Königlich Preussische Ordensliste (in German), Berlin, 1895, p. 10 – via hathitrust.org
  11. Back to citation Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Baden (1902), "Großherzogliche Orden" pp. 68, 78
  12. Back to citation "Ludewigs-orden", Großherzoglich Hessische Ordensliste (in German), Darmstadt: Staatsverlag, 1914, p. 6 – via hathitrst.org
  13. Back to citation Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Württemberg (1896), "Königliche Orden" p. 28
  14. Back to citation "Ritter-Orden", Hof- und Staatshandbuch der Österreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchie, 1918, pp. 51, 57, retrieved 31 August 2021
  15. Back to citation occurrence 15.0 Back to citation occurrence 15.1 Handbuch über den Königlich Preußischen Hof und Staat fur das jahr 1908, p. 11
  16. Back to citation Sveriges statskalender (in Swedish), 1915, p. 671, retrieved 2018-01-06 – via runeberg.org
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