Thurn und Taxis:
The history of an enterprising family
By Arturo Beeche
Very few princely families have been able to play such an important
role in Europe without ever appearing as actors in the main stage of history.
The dynasty of the Princes of Thurn und Taxis is such a family. The family's
fortunes prospered along those of the imperial court at Vienna. For more
than 300 years, the Thurn und Taxis held the monopoly over imperial communications
and post between Vienna and the far flung Habsburg possessions that formed
the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation.
The Thurn und Taxis had humble beginnings in the XVth century. When
Emperor Frederick III celebrated half a century on the throne in 1490,
he decided to strengthen the communications system within his empire. The
Habsburgs had recently acquired Tyrol, and in the coming years would also
incorporate Burgundy and the Low Countries to their expanding empire. Within
twenty years the family would also acquire Spain and that country's vast
colonial system. Frederick III knew that without effective communication
it would be impossible to govern the expanding Habsburg lands. With this
task in mind, the emperor offered a communications monopoly to the Thurn
und Taxis family, which had already proved its efficiency in providing
support to the empire's communications. It was then that Franz von Taxis
obtained the mail monopoly over all the Habsburg lands. Franz von Taxis
had moved to Brussels in search of fortune and it was there that he became
a successful merchant. By 1494, Franz was providing an imperial post service
between Milan and Innsbruck. Later on, he organized the same service between
Vienna and Brussels. Franz' system greatly improved communications within
the ever expanding Habsburg empire. For the next three centuries the family's
name was synonymous with transportation and communications. It was also
synonymous with wealth as the Taxis prospered financially from their services
to the Habsburgs, as well as other royal courts throughout Europe.
The coat of arms of the Princely House of Thurn und Taxis
Franz von Taxis died in 1517, at which time his business and title of
Imperial Postmaster was inherited by his nephew Johannes von Taxis. The
family's close connections to the Habsburg court continued after the accession
of Charles V in 1519. Johannes became a close companion of the new emperor
and was present during many military campaigns and Imperial Diets. Johannes
also established the first army postal service and consolidated his family's
holdings. By his death in 1541, Johannes had played a major role in perpetuating
the family's wealth and future rise to power.
The Taxis originated from the region of Bergamo in Italy. Their letters
of nobility were granted by Emperor Maximilian I in 1512 in recognition
for services given to the Habsburg family. Emperor Charles V confirmed
his grandfather's granting in 1534. According to the Almanach de Gotha,
the Thurn und Taxis family were made Barons of the Empire in 1608. Almost
two decades later, Emperor Ferdinand II elevated the family to Counts of
the Empire in 1624. They were made princes by the Spanish Court in 1681
in recognition for their services. Finally, the Thurn und Taxis received
their princely title in the Holy Roman Empire in the 1695 from Emperor
Leopold I of Habsburg. It was Countess Alexandrine of Taxis, née
de Rye, who commissioned a study to give relevance to the family's ancestry.
Widowed at an early age, Alexandrine successfully headed the family's interests
during the Thirty Years' War. Her attempts to revive the family's ancestry
led to the adoption of the name Thurn und Taxis. The genealogical study
she commissioned successfully linked the family to the once powerful northern
Italian family of Torriani, which was translated to Thurn in German. This
study in turn led to the autorisation given by Philip IV of Spain and Ferdinand
II of Germany for the Taxis family to be known as Thurn und Taxis.
No other enterprise could guarantee transportation and communications
with the reliability provided by the Thurn und Taxis. By the end of the
XVIIIth century it took five days for a letter to travel from Brussels
to Innsbruck, while it took forty hours to travel from Brussels to Paris.
It was a performance record that only the Thurn und Taxis system could
match. The family used a horse relay system that allowed for uninterrupted
travel from one European capital to another. It was Napoleon Bonaparte
who first attacked the Thurn und Taxis monopoly. And as the XIXth century
progressed, the family gradually lost it completely. The loss of the mail
monopoly did little to affect the power of the Thurn und Taxis for by then,
the family had diversified into a myriad other enterprises from foodstuffs
to banking to railroads. Their wealth was vast and very few other European
families could match it.
The Thurn und Taxis not only profited in their many enterprises, but
they also achieved great marriages. From their origin in Bergamo to becoming
the couriers of the imperial court in Vienna, the family also expanded
its relations through the palaces of the German nobility. One of the first
prominent matrimonial alliances of the family was that of Eugene-Alexander,
First Prince of Thurn and Taxis, to Princess Anna of Fürstenberg.
His successor, Anselm-Franz, married into another renowned princely family
when he wed Princess Maria of Lobkowicz at the beginning of the XVIIIth
century. The Third Prince of Thurn and Taxis, Alexander-Ferdinand, continued
these successful matrimonial alliances by marrying Sophia Chistianne of
Brandenburg. His heir, the Fourth Prince married Duchess Augusta of Wurttemberg.
Karl-Alexander, the Fifth Prince of Thurn und Taxis was married to Duchess
Theresa of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, a relative of Queen Charlotte, wife of
George III of Great Britain. The family reached the pinnacle in 1858 when
Maximilian, Hereditary Prince of Thurn und Taxis, married Duchess Helene
in Bavaria, sister of Empress Elisabeth of Austria. Helene in fact, was
initially chosen as Emperor Franz Joseph's bride, yet her vivacious and
lovely younger sister attracted the young emperor's eye and conquered his
heart. Nonetheless, Maximilian of Thurn und Taxis could count the Austrian
emperor as a brother-in-law.
The marriage of Maximilian and Helene was a success as the couple found
satisfaction with each other. Unfortunately for Helene, her husband died
unexpectedly in 1867 leaving her with four young children: Louisa, Elisabeth,
Maximilian and Albert. The children were raised primarily at the family's
gigantic St. Emmeran Palace in Regensburg. And as first cousin's of the
future emperor of Austria, the Thurn und Taxis were destined to make notable
marriages. Louisa von Thurn und Taxis married Prince Friedrich of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen
a brother of King Carol I of Romania. Princess Elisabeth married Prince
Miguel, Duke of Braganza in 1877. Maximilian, VIIth Prince of Thurn und
Taxis died without any issue in 1885. He was succeeded by his only brother,
Albert who married Archduchess Margarethe of Habsburg, a daughter of Archduke
Joseph and Princess Clotilde of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, sister of Tsar Ferdinand
I of Bulgaria.
Prince Albert of Thurn und Taxis was famous throughout Europe for the
size of his fortune. From his vast palace of more than 500 rooms, Albert
ruled over a large business empire. By the time of his accession, the family
had collected more than a dozen palaces and castles around Regensburg and
within the Habsburg lands. The Thurn and Taxis were also among the largest
landowners in Central Europe. Prince Albert maintained a very artistic
court at Regensburg, an environment in which he allowed some the Wittelsbach
strains inherited from his mother's family show. His court balls were legendary
and the family's art collection was considerably enlarged.
Albert and Margarethe had eight children, one of which did not survive
infancy. The two eldest boys, Franz-Joseph and Karl-August, married two
sisters, the Infantas Elisabeth and Maria-Anna of Braganza, daughters of
Miguel, Duke of Braganza. Franz-Joseph and Elisabeth had four children
who survived infancy. Their only son and heir to the princely title, Gabriel,
died during the siege of Stalingrad in 1942. Karl-August and Maria-Anna
were the parents of four children. Their eldest son, Prince Johannes of
Thurn und Taxis, was born in 1926 and became the heir-presumptive to the
princely title after his cousin Gabriel's death.
Prince Albert of Thurn und Taxis was deeply opposed to the advent of
Adolph Hitler. As the Nazi regime strengthened its hold over Germany, the
Thurn und Taxis increased their opposition to everything that National
Socialism represented. Hitler was very suspicious of these very powerful
German noble family. The Second World War did not treat the family lightly,
not only did Prince Gabriel die in 1942, but two years later Prince Anselm-Albert,
another grandson of Prince Albert, was killed in action. At the end of
the war, the Thurn und Taxis lost vast properties located behind the Iron
Curtain.
Prince Albert of Thurn und Taxis died at the age of eighty-four years
in 1952. Administration of the family fortune fell on the shoulders of
Prince Johannes, who was in his mid-twenties. Johannes continued to play
an important role in handling the family's business until he inherited
the princely title from his father in 1982. At the time of his grandfather's
death in 1952, the family had over 30,000 hectares of land in Germany.
Johannes sold a sizable piece of this real estate and invested in land
in North America and Brazil. He also invested heavily in industrial conglomerates.
By the 1990's the family fortune had expanded to include five banks and
several entertainment businesses. It was also during this time that Johannes
became involved in efforts to have some of the property lost during the
war restored to the family.
The charmed life of His Serene Highness Johannes, XIth Prince of Thurn
und Taxis, came to an abrupt end on December 14, 1990. The prince had remained
a bachelor until his mid-fifties, when the absence of a male heir played
an important role in his finding a wife. Johannes, always very capable
of surprising most people by his eclectic choices, married an impoverished
German countess, Gloria von Schönburg-Glauchau, who was thirty four
years his junior. The Schönburg-Glauchau's were members of the Saxon
aristocracy and had lost most of their properties after 1945. During most
of the 1980's the couple led prominent lives as members of the international
jet set, a constant partying that in no small measure weakened Johannes'
health. By the late 1980's, the couple had three children, including Prince
Albert, the long-awaited heir born in 1983.
After Prince Johannes' death, the Thurn und Taxis empire almost collapsed
under the weight of death duties and adventurous financial speculation.
The princely couple's extravagance also contributed to their mounting debts.
Princess Gloria was forced to open the doors of her husband's castles and
hold auctions. She also sold off most of the enterprises that were in deep
financial straits, while reducing the family's expenditures. The Princess'
actions to safeguard the future of her son's inheritance has raised the
ire of many members of the family, yet she did not have other options.
Johannes' death did not allow him time to prepare his affairs and thus
reduced the amount of tax levied on the Thurn und Taxis empire by the German
government. Princess Gloria's activities in favor of her son's future seem
thus far to have saved a large portion of the family's patrimony. Long-gone
are the endless parties, the constant thundering of nightclubs and the
nasty encounters with paparazzi. These days, Princess Gloria spends most
of her time dedicated to the upbringing of her children and to the dutiful
restructuring of the Thurn und Taxis legacy.
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