Count Ferdinand Ernst Gabriel von Waldstein

Count Ferdinand Ernst Joseph Gabriel von Waldstein und Wartenberg (24 March 1762 – 26 May 1823) was a Czech and German nobleman and patron of the arts.

A member of the Bohemian House of Waldstein (Valdštejn) and an early patron of Ludwig van Beethoven, his political and military roles included the office of a Geheimrat in Bonn, commander (Komtur) of the Teutonic Order, and (briefly) colonel of a light infantry regiment that he had raised.

Waldstein was born in Vienna, Austria, the son of Count Emanuel Philibert von Waldstein-Wartenberg (1731–1775) and his wife, Princess Maria Anna Theresa of Liechtenstein (1738-1814).

Living in Bonn from early 1788 onwards, Waldstein received, on 17 June that year, the knighthood of the Order by its Grand Master Archduke Maximilian Francis of Austria, the Elector of Cologne.

As a gift of Maximilian Francis, he received a knightly estate in Godesberg and became, after submitting his quarters of nobility, a member of the Cologne Landstände in 1793.

[b] Waldstein's Light Infantry never saw action,[5] but it did help the local militia to put out a fire in a biscuit bakery on the Isle of Wight.

On 23 July 1797, Maximilian Francis wrote, "For over a year neither the order nor his creditors have heard anything from Ferdinand von Waldstein, I wish him much money and intelligence".

On 9 May 1812, Ferdinand married the wealthy Countess Isabella Rzewuska and organised numerous festivities on the sidelines of the Vienna Congress.