THURN UND TAXIS

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The Princely House of 'Thurn and Taxis' () is a German family that was a key player in the postal services in Europe in the 16th century and is well known as owners of breweries and builders of countless castles.

Contents

History

Cultural references to Thurn and Taxis

References

External links

History

In the 13th century, the Lombardic family Tasso (meaning Badger) was resident near Bergamo. The badger () became Taxis in the family coat of arms. In 1624 the family became counts (''Grafen''). In 1650 they changed their name to Thurn (Tower) und Taxis.
Ruggiano de Tassis founded a postal service in Italy. And later in Innsbruck, on 11 December 1489, Jeannetto de Tassis was appointed Chief Master of Postal Services. The family held its exclusive position for centuries. On 12 November 1516 the Taxis family had a postal service based in Brussels reaching to Rome, Naples, Spain, Germany and France by courier.
The Thurn und Taxis company would last until the 18th century, when the postal service was finally bought by the heir to the Spanish throne.
Rainer Maria Rilke wrote his ''Duino Elegies'' while visiting Princess Marie of Thurn and Taxis (''née'' princess of Hohenlohe) at the family's Duino castle. Rilke later dedicated his famous novel ''The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge'' to the princess, who was one of his major patrons.
Several members of the family have been Knights of Malta.
The current head of the house of Thurn and Taxis is HSH Albert II, 12th Prince of Thurn and Taxis, son of Johannes and his wife, Gloria. The family is one of the wealthiest in Germany. The family has resided in St. Emmeram Castle in Regensburg since 1748. The family's brewery was sold to the Paulaner Group (Munich) in 1996, but still produces beer under the brand of Thurn und Taxis.
==Princes (''Fürsten'') of Thurn and Taxis, 1695–present==

★ Eugen Alexander Franz: 1695–1714

★ Anselm Franz: 1714–39

★ Alexander Ferdinand: 1739–73

★ Karl Anselm: 1773–1805

★ Karl Alexander: 1805–27

★ Maximilian Karl: 1827–71

★ Maximilian Maria: 1871–85

★ Albert I: 1885–1952

★ Franz Josef: 1952–71

★ Karl August: 1971–82

★ Johannes: 1926–90

★ Albert II: 1990–''present''
The Thurn and Taxis family came to massive media attention during the late-1970s through mid-1980s when late Prince Johannes married Countess Maria Gloria of Schönburg-Glauchau, a member of an impoverished noble family. The couple's wild, "jet set" lifestyle and Princess Gloria's over-the-top appearance (characterized by bright hair color and flashy clothes) earned her the nickname "Princess TNT."

Cultural references to Thurn and Taxis

★ The mail monopoly of Thurn and Taxis was central to the plot of ''The Crying of Lot 49'' by Thomas Pynchon, which deals with a secret rival mail system ''W. A. S. T. E.'', developed by the fictional Trystero family.

★ The board game Thurn and Taxis, by Andreas Seyfarth and Karen Seyfarth is inspired by the family.

★ The protagonist of Walter Jon Williams's ''Elegy for Angels and Dogs'' is the head of the Thurn und Taxis family.

References

★ Wolfgang Behringer, ''Thurn und Taxis, Die Geschichte ihrer Post und ihrer Unternehmen'', München, Zürich 1990 ISBN 3-492-03336-9

★ Martin Dallmeier, ''Quellen zur Geschichte des europäischen Postwesens'', Kallmünz 1977

★ Martin Dallmeier and Martha Schad, ''Das Fürstliche Haus Thurn und Taxis, 300 Jahre Geschichte in Bildern'', Regensburg 1996, ISBN 3-7917-1492-9

★ Fritz Ohmann, ''Die Anfänge des Postwesens und die Taxis'', Leipzig 1909

★ Joseph Rübsam, ''Johann Baptista von Taxis'', Freiburg im Breisgau 1889

External links

★ Thurn and Taxis family homepage

★ Telecom Pioneers by Phonebook of the World: Thurn und Taxis.com

★ Thurn and Taxis on EuroHistory.com

★ Deutsche Post, the successor German postal service

★ Deutsche Telekom, the successor German telecommunications service

★ The Taxis genealogy and DNA