Ferdinand (Landgraf Hesse-Gomburg)

Ferdinand is the fifth son of Landgrave Friedrich V and his wife Carolina Hesse-Darmstadt , daughter of Landgrave Ludwig IX of Hesse-Darmstadt and Henriette Carolina Palatinate-Zweibrücken , "the great landgrafini."

In 1800, at the age of 17, Ferdinand joined the Austrian Cuirassier regiment of Karl of Lorraine. Ferdinand participated in many battles of the Napoleonic wars and was injured several times. After the Battle of the Nations, Emperor Franz II awarded Ferdinand the highest award of the Austrian army, the military order of Maria Theresa . In 1822, Ferdinand resigned from the military service with the rank of cavalry general (Field Marshal).

Ferdinand would never be married. Together with his chamber-huntsman, he lived in the modest outhouse of the Homburg Palace (greenhouse) and indulged in his hobbies - hunting and exploring the Roman-German period of Taunus history. On September 8, 1848, after the death of his brother Gustav, he became the Landgrave of Hesse-Gomburg. Ferdinand, distinguished by his tough economy, gradually eliminated landgrave debts. In the wake of the Revolution of 1848 , Ferdinand adopted the constitution of Hessen-Gomburg, prepared by his brother Gustav. At the end of the work of the Frankfurt National Assembly, Ferdinand abolished the constitution by his decree of April 20, 1852 and remained until his death a sovereign ruler, using the love of his subjects.

Ferdinand died at 83 years of life, leaving no heir, after which, in accordance with the hereditary agreement of Hesse-Homburg, he withdrew to the Grand Duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt , and after the war of 1866 - Prussia . Ferdinand is buried in the tomb of the Homburg Palace .

• Jaromir Hirtenfeld: Der Militär-Maria-Theresien-Orden und seine Mitglieder , Wien 1857, S.1222-1223
• Karl Schwartz, Landgraf Friedrich V. von Hessen-Homburg und seine Familie. Aus Archivalien und Familienpapieren, Rudolstadt 1878