Count Ferdinand von Plettenberg-Wittem, commonly referred to as Ferdinand von Plettenberg (b. 25 July 1690 Paderborn - 18 March 1737 Vienna) was Prime Minister of the Electorate of Cologne, Treasurer and Hereditary Marshal of Prince-elector Clemens August of Bavaria and an important supporter of Maria Theresa in the succession to the throne for the Habsburgian Erblande. [1] [2]
Ferdinand Wilhelm Adolf Franz was born into an old westphalian House of Plettenberg, as the only son of Baron Johann Adolph von Plettenberg zu Lenhausen (1655–1695) and his wife, Baroness Maria Theresia Gudula von Wolff-Metternich zur Gracht (b. 1667). He was nephew of Friedrich Christian von Plettenberg, Prince-Bishop of Münster.
For his loyal service to the House of Habsburg, he was awarded with the title of Imperial Count on 8 September 1724 by Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor and made Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece. [3]
He was married in 1712 to Countess Bernhardine von Westerholt (1695-1757), daughter of Count Dietrich Conrad Adolph von Westerholt zu Lembeck (1658-1702) and his wife, Baroness Maria Anna Theodora Waldbott von Bassenheim (1665-1742). They had a son and a daughter:
Henriette Adelaide of Savoy, was Electress of Bavaria by marriage to Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria. She had much political influence in her adopted country and with her husband did much to improve the welfare of the Electorate of Bavaria.
Maximilian Karl, Prince of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rochefort was an Austrian military officer and the first Prince of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rochefort.
Aloys Thomas Raimund, Count von Harrach zu Rohrau was an Austrian politician and diplomat.
Adolf Wilhelm Carl Daniel, Hereditary Prince of Auersperg was a Bohemian and an Austrian nobleman and statesman. He served as eighth prime minister of the western part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (Cisleithania) and ninth provincial president of Salzburg.
Count Franz Philipp von Lamberg was an Austrian soldier, statesman, journalist and writer, who held the military rank of field marshal. He had a short but important role in the Hungarian Revolution of 1848.
The House of Plettenberg is the name of the Westphalian noble family of the Uradel. It dates back at least to 1187, when Heidolphus de Plettenbrath was mentioned in a document by Philip I. Plettenberg-Wittem branch that ruled immediate Lodships of Meitingen and Sulmingen lost its sovereignty and became mediatised to Württemberg in 1806. This line of the family went extinct in 1813.
The House of Lippe-Weissenfeld was a comital and later princely cadet line of the House of Lippe, a dynasty ruling the Principality of Lippe until the German Revolution of 1918–19.
The House of Khevenhüller is the name of an old and important Carinthian noble family, documented there since 1356, with its ancestral seat at Landskron Castle. In the 16th century, the family split into the two branches of Khevenhüller-Frankenburg, Imperial Counts from 1593, and Khevenhüller-Hochosterwitz, raised to Imperial Counts in 1725 and, as Khevenhüller-Metsch, to princely rank (Fürsten) in 1763. The family belongs to high nobility.
The House of Dietrichstein was one of the oldest and most prominent Austrian noble families originating from the Duchy of Carinthia. The family belonged to the high nobility. The Nikolsburg branch was elevated to the rank of Prince of the Holy Roman Empire in 1624, while a member of the Hollenburg branch was elevated to the same dignity in 1684. The family held two territories with imperial immediacy – the Principality of Dietrichstein, along with castles in Carinthia and Moravia, and the Barony of Tarasp in Switzerland.
Count Henry of Stolberg-Wernigerode succeeded his father in 1824 as ruler of the County of Wernigerode.
Count Christian Frederick of Stolberg-Wernigerode was the only son of Count Henry Ernest of Stolberg-Wernigerode, whom he succeeded as ruler of the County of Wernigerode in 1778.
Maximilian Freiherr von und zu Trauttmansdorff, was an Austrian politician and diplomat of the Thirty Years' War era. His other titles included Freiherr von Gleichenberg, Neuenstadt am Kocher, Negau, Burgau und Totzenbach, Herr zu Teinitz. He was a Knight in the Order of the Golden Fleece, Geheimer Rat, Chancellor and Obersthofmeister.
Count John of Nassau-Idstein was Count of Nassau and Protestant Regent of Idstein.
Egon VIII of Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg was Imperial Count of Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg (1618–1635) and Bavarian Field-marshal, and an important military leader in the Thirty Years' War.
Walther Franz Xaver Anton, Prince of Dietrichstein, was a German prince member of the House of Dietrichstein, 5th Prince (Fürst) of Dietrichstein zu Nikolsburg, Princely Count of Tarasp, Baron (Freiherr) of Hollenburg, Finkenstein and Thalberg.
Moritz, Prince of Dietrichstein, was a German prince, member of the House of Dietrichstein, 10th and last Prince (Fürst) of Dietrichstein zu Nikolsburg, Count of Proskau-Leslie, Baron (Freiherr) of Hollenburg, Finkenstein and Thalberg.
Karl Ludwig Grünne, Count of Pinchard was an Austro-Hungarian general.
Count Ferdinand von Harrach zu Rohrau und Thannhausen was a German aristocrat, landscape, history, and a portrait painter.
Count Alexander Ferdinand von Westerholt was a Bavarian statesman and scholar.
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