Philipp Ferdinand of Limburg Stirum

Philipp Ferdinand von Limburg Stirum (born 1734, died 1794), Count of Limburg, lord of Styrum, was the fourth reigning count from the branch Limburg-Styrum-Styrum. He was also heir of Wilhermsdorf in Franconia and of the sovereign Lordship of Oberstein.

He is known for his very extravagant and fastuous lifestyle, which caused his bankruptcy, and for having been the lover of princess Tarakanova.

Philipp Ferdinand was born on August 21, 1734 in Schillingsfürst. He was the fifth son of Christian Otto count of Limburg Stirum and his wife, née Carolina Juliana princess of Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst.

After the death of his mother in 1758, he inherited the herrschaft of Wilhermsdorf. Philipp Ferdinand was megalomaniac, and led a fastuous life in his palace of Wilhermsdorf, inspired by the court of Versailles. He had his own court theatre, music chapel and even an own corps of hussar. In 1760, after his elder brother's death, he inherited Styrum.

Because of his very extravagant life, he soon had huge debts and was forced to sell Wilhermsdorf in 1769, he then moved to his possessions of Oberstein. Despite of selling lots of his goods (tens of farms and castles), his debt kept rising. He also gave money to the Jesuits to create a Catholic school and a Catholic parish in Protestant Mülheim. The emperor Joseph II was trying to control the Church and didn't approve of these actions. When he heard about the enormous debts of the count, he sent a fiscalist to Styrum to take action in order to avoid future problems.

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