The Princely House of Thurn and Taxis (, ) is a family of

German nobility The German nobility () and Royal family, royalty were status groups of the Estates of the realm, medieval society in Central Europe, which enjoyed certain Privilege (law), privileges relative to other people under the laws and customs in the Ger ...

that is part of the ''

Briefadel ''Briefadel'' (in German; ) or ''brevadel'' (in Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish) are persons and families who have been ennobled by letters patent. The oldest known such letters patent were issued in the middle of the 14th century, during the ...

''. It was a key player in the

postal services The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letters, and parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid-19th century, national postal sy ...

in Europe during the 16th century, until the end of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

in 1806, and became well known as the owner of breweries and commissioner of several castles. The family has resided in

Regensburg Regensburg (historically known in English as Ratisbon) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the rivers Danube, Naab and Regen (river), Regen, Danube's northernmost point. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the ...

since 1748 with their seat at St. Emmeram Castle from 1803. The family is one of the wealthiest in Germany, and the current head of the House is Albert, 12th Prince of Thurn and Taxis. They are one of the mediatised Houses for their former Sovereign Imperial counties, later mediatised to

Kingdom of Württemberg The Kingdom of Württemberg ( ) was a German state that existed from 1806 to 1918, located within the area that is now Baden-Württemberg. The kingdom was a continuation of the Electorate of Württemberg, which existed from 1803 to 1806. Geogr ...

( Buchau Princely Abbey, now Bad Buchau),

Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria ( ; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1806 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German Empire in 1871, the kingd ...

and

Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen () was a principality in southwestern Germany. Its rulers belonged to the junior House of Hohenzollern#Swabian branch, Swabian branch of the House of Hohenzollern. The Swabian Hohenzollerns were elevated to princes in 162 ...

History

The Tasso family (from the Italian word for "

badger Badgers are medium-sized short-legged omnivores in the superfamily Musteloidea. Badgers are a polyphyletic rather than a natural taxonomic grouping, being united by their squat bodies and adaptions for fossorial activity rather than by the ...

", the family's heraldic animal) was a Lombard family in the area of

Bergamo Bergamo ( , ; ) is a city in the Alps, alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from the alpine lakes Lake Como, Como and Lake Iseo, Iseo and 70 km (43 mi) from Lake Garda, Garda and Lake ...

. The earliest records place them in Almenno in the Val Brembana around 1200,Serassi, Pierantonio. ''La vita di Torquato Tasso''
pp. 4 ff
Pagliarini, 1785. Retrieved 2 October 2013. before they fled to the more distant village of Cornello to escape feuding between

's Colleoni ( Guelf) and Suardi ( Ghibelline) families. Around 1290,''The Encyclopedia Americana: The International Reference Work'', Vol. 25
p. 476
Utgiver Americana Corporation, 1958. Retrieved 3 October 2013. after

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

had conquered Bergamo, Omodeo Tasso organized 32 of his relatives into the Company of Couriers (''Compagnia dei Corrieri'') and linked Milan with

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

and

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. The recipient of royal and papal patronage, his post riders were so comparatively efficient that they became known as ''bergamaschi'' throughout Italy.López Jurado, Luis Felipe. ''Prefilatelia de Murcia: Historia Postal del Reino de Murcia desde 1569 hasta 1861'', pp. 26 ff.
La Familia Tassis
. Editora Regional de Murcia, 2006. Retrieved 3 October 2013. Ruggiero de Tassis was named to the court of the

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

Frederick the Peaceful in 1443. He organized a post system between Bergamo and

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

by 1450; from

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...

to Italy and

Styria Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...

around 1460; and Vienna with

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

around 1480. Upon his success, Ruggiero was knighted and made a gentleman of the Chamber. was appointed Chief Master of Postal Services at Innsbruck in 1489. Philip of Burgundy elevated Janetto's brother to captain of his post in 1502. Owing to a payment dispute with Philip, Francisco opened his post to public use in 1506. In 1512 the family was ennobled by Emperor Maximilian I. By 1516, Francisco had moved the family to

in the

Duchy of Brabant The Duchy of Brabant, a Imperial State, state of the Holy Roman Empire, was established in 1183. It developed from the Landgraviate of Brabant of 1085–1183, and formed the heart of the historic Low Countries. The Duchy comprised part of the Bu ...

, where they became instrumental to

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

rule, linking the rich

Habsburg Netherlands Habsburg Netherlands were the parts of the Low Countries that were ruled by sovereigns of the Holy Roman Empire's House of Habsburg. This rule began in 1482 and ended for the Northern Netherlands in 1581 and for the Southern Netherlands in 1797. ...

to the Spanish court.Papadopoulos, A.G. ''Urban Regimes and Strategies: Building Europe's Central Executive District in Brussels'' (University of Chicago Press, 1996)
p. 41
Retrieved 3 October 2013. The normal route passed through

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, but a secondary route across the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

was available in times of hostility. At the death of Francisco in 1517, Emperor

Charles V Charles V may refer to: Kings and Emperors * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise Others * Charles V, Duke ...

appointed Francisco's nephew Johann Baptista von Taxis (1470-1541) as ''Generalpostmeister'' of the

Kaiserliche Reichspost ''Kaiserliche Reichspost'' (, ''Imperial Mail''), originally named ''Niederländische Postkurs'' (Low Countries' postal route), was the name of the international Mail, postal service of the Holy Roman Empire, founded in 1490. Often considered th ...

. Johann Baptista was briefly succeeded by his eldest son, Franz II von Taxis (1514-1543), after whose untimely death the family split into two further branches. The youngest son, Leonhard I von Taxis, succeeded as ''Generalpostmeister'' and is the ancestor of the princely Thurn and Taxis family. Johann Baptista's second-eldest son, Raymond de Tassis (1515-1579), took over the office of postmaster-general to the

Crown of Spain The monarchy of Spain or Spanish monarchy () is the constitutional form of government of Spain. It consists of a hereditary monarch who reigns as the head of state, being the highest office of the country. The Spanish monarchy is constitu ...

and settled in Spain. Raymond married into

Spanish nobility The Spanish nobility are people who possess a title of nobility confirmed by the Spanish Ministry of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Cortes, as well as those individuals appointed to one of Spain's three highest orders of knightho ...

, and his eldest son Juan de Tassis was created Count of Villamediana in 1603 by Phillip III. The Spanish line of the family became extinct with

Juan de Tassis, 2nd Count of Villamediana Don (honorific), Don Juan de Tassis y Peralta, 2nd Count of Villamediana (Spanish language, es: ''Don Juan de Tassis y Peralta, segundo conde de Villamediana''; baptised 26 August 1582 – 21 August 1622) was a Spanish poet of the Baroque ''Culte ...

, a poet who died in mysterious circumstances in 1622. In 1608 the Brussels line was raised to the status of hereditary

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

s, and in 1642 the Innsbruck line as well (which descends from Gabriel de Tassis, d. 1529). When the Brussels line was raised to the hereditary status of

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

s in 1624, they needed illustrious lineage to legitimize their intended further ascension to the high nobility. Alexandrine von Taxis commissioned genealogists to "clarify" their origin, who until then had only been considered a family descending from medieval knights who had become merchants. They now claimed, albeit without documentary evidence, that they descended from the Italian noble family

Della Torre The House of Della Torre (Torriani or Thurn) was an Italian noble family who dominated Lombardy and much of northern Italy between the 12th and 14th centuries. They owned the Lordship of Milan, before being expelled by the Visconti. They were membe ...

, or Torriani, who had ruled in Milan and Lombardy until 1311. She then applied to the emperor for a name change. With the Germanization, the coat of arms symbol of the Milanese family, the tower ''(Torre)'', became ''Thurn'' (an older German spelling, nowadays ''Turm'') and was placed in front of the actual family name ''Tasso'', translated with ''Taxis'' (an older German spelling for ''Dachs'' = Badger). The tower of the Torriani was added to the badger as a coat of arms. They formally adopted the German form of their name in 1650, including the comital Innsbruck line, which also exists to this day. In 1681 the Brussels line was elevated to the

Spanish Netherlands The Spanish Netherlands (; ; ; ) (historically in Spanish: , the name "Flanders" was used as a '' pars pro toto'') was the Habsburg Netherlands ruled by the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs from 1556 to 1714. They were a collection of States of t ...

' rank of prince with Eugen Alexander Franz, 1st Prince of Thurn and Taxis, with

Braine-le-Château Braine-le-Château (; ; ) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. On January 1, 2006, Braine-le-Château had a total population of 9,446. The total area is 22.70 km² which gives a population dens ...

(acquired in 1670) as his titular principality ''(Principauté de la Tour et Tassis)'', and in 1695 to the rank of

imperial prince Prince of the Holy Roman Empire (, , cf. ''Fürst'') was a title attributed to a hereditary ruler, nobleman or prelate recognised by the Holy Roman Emperor. Definition Originally, possessors of the princely title bore it as immediate vassal ...

at the behest of Emperor Leopold I, although at that time no territorial possessions existed in the

. Admission to the ''Imperial Council of Princes'' in the Imperial Diet took place in 1704. The Brussels line moved to

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

in 1703 because of the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish E ...

; their new family seat built from 1731 was the Palais Thurn und Taxis. Emperor Charles VII appointed Alexander Ferdinand, 3rd Prince of Thurn and Taxis, ''Principal Commissioner'' (Lord Chancellor) of the Imperial Diet in 1743. He therefore moved to

, where the parliament was seated, in 1748. The position became hereditary in the family who lived in different houses there, but the company headquarters remained in Frankfurt. When Saint Emmeram's Abbey in Regensburg was secularized in 1803, the monastery buildings were donated to the princes of Thurn and Taxis, who had them converted into a residence, henceforth known as ''Schloss Thurn and Taxis'', sometimes also called ''Saint Emmeram Palace''. It has remained their family seat to this day. In 1786,

Karl Anselm, 4th Prince of Thurn and Taxis Karl Anselm, 4th Prince of Thurn and Taxis, full German language, German name: ''Karl Anselm Fürst von Thurn und Taxis'' (2 June 1733 – 13 November 1805) was the fourth Thurn und Taxis, Prince of Thurn and Taxis, Postmaster General of the Reic ...

, acquired the

Upper Swabia Upper Swabia ( or ) is a region in Germany in the federal states of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria.''Brockhaus Enzyklopädie.'' 19. Auflage. Band 16, 1991, p. 72. The name refers to the area between the Swabian Jura, Lake Con ...

n county of Friedberg with the lordships of Scheer,

Dürmentingen Dürmentingen () is a town in the district of Biberach in Baden-Württemberg in Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north a ...

and Bussen from the princes of Waldburg, which from 1787 was known as the ''County of Friedberg-Scheer''. Only then did the Thurn und Taxis rule their own principality of the empire for 20 years, but their main source of income remained the Imperial Reichspost. The family operated the

Thurn-und-Taxis Post The Thurn-und-Taxis Post () was a private postal service and the successor to the Imperial Reichspost of the Holy Roman Empire. The Thurn-und-Taxis Post was operated by the Princely House of Thurn and Taxis between 1806 and 1867. The company wa ...

, successor to the Imperial Reichspost of the Holy Roman Empire, between 1806 and 1867. Their postal service was gradually lost over the centuries, with the Spanish network being bought by the crown in the 18th century and the German post being purchased by

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

after the fall of the

Free City of Frankfurt Frankfurt was a major city of the Holy Roman Empire, being the seat of imperial elections since 885 and the city for Coronation of the Holy Roman emperor, imperial coronations from 1562 (previously in Free Imperial City of Aachen) until 1792. F ...

in 1866. By investing their earnings from the postal business - later also the settlements for the postal rights - in numerous landed estates, a large number of forests and farms as well as castles were added to the family property, especially from secularized church property, among them Buchau Abbey, Marchtal Abbey, Neresheim Abbey, Ennetach Abbey, Siessen Abbey, and others. In 1803 they were summarized as ''Imperial Principality of Buchau''. The buildings of these monasteries were mostly re-donated to the church in the 20th century, but the lands continue to be cultivated by the princely administration. Besides the St Emmeram's Palace the current prince still owns Taxis Castle (Trugenhofen) and Garatshausen Castle at

Feldafing Feldafing () is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality in Starnberg (district), Starnberg district, Bavaria, Germany, and is located on the west shore of Lake Starnberg, southwest of Munich. History The history of Feldafing begins on the Ros ...

Lake Starnberg Lake Starnberg, or ''Starnberger See'' ) — called Lake Würm or ''Würmsee'' until 1962 — is Germany's second-largest body of fresh water, having great depth, and fifth-largest lake by area. It and its surroundings lie in three different Bava ...

Rainer Maria Rilke René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke (4 December 1875 – 29 December 1926), known as Rainer Maria Rilke, was an Austrian poet and novelist. Acclaimed as an Idiosyncrasy, idiosyncratic and expressive poet, he is widely recognized as ...

wrote his ''

Duino Elegies The ''Duino Elegies'' () are a collection of ten elegy, elegies written by the Bohemian-Austrians, Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke. He was then "widely recognized as one of the most lyrically intense German-language poets", and began the eleg ...

'' while visiting Princess Marie of Thurn and Taxis (''née'' Princess of

Hohenlohe The House of Hohenlohe () is a German princely dynasty. It formerly ruled an immediate territory within the Holy Roman Empire, which was divided between several branches. In 1806, the area of Hohenlohe was 1,760 km² and its estimated pop ...

, wife of Prince Alexander) at her family's Duino Castle. Rilke later dedicated his only novel (''

The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge ''The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge'', first published as ''The Journal of My Other Self'',Mary D. Herter Norton, M. D. Herter Norton (tr.). New York: W. W. Norton, 1949, 1992. Translator's Foreword, p. 8. is a 1910 novel by Austrian poet Ra ...

'') to the princess, who was his

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...

ess. Her son Prince Alexander (1881–1937) became an Italian citizen named ''Principe della Torre e Tasso'' and was raised in 1923 by the Italian king to ''Duke of Castel Duino''. Today Duino Castle belongs to his grandson, Prince Carlo della Torre e Tasso, Duca di Castel Duino (b. 1952). The Duino branch is part of the family's Czech branch that in the early 19th century settled in

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

(now the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

). Several members of the family have been

Knights of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, and commonly known as the Order of Malta or the Knights of Malta, is a Catholic Church, Cathol ...

. Until 1919, the titles of the head of the princely house were ''His

Serene Highness His/Her Serene Highness (abbreviation: HSH, second person address: Your Serene Highness) is a style (manner of address), style used today by the reigning families of Liechtenstein, Monaco and Thailand. Until 1918, it was also associated with the p ...

the

Fürst ' (, female form ', plural '; from Old High German ', "the first", a translation of the Latin ') is a German language, German word for a ruler as well as a princely title. ' were, starting in the Middle Ages, members of the highest nobility who ...

von Thurn und Taxis, Prince of Buchau and Prince of Krotoszyn, Duke of Wörth and Donaustauf, Princely Count of Friedberg-Scheer, Count of Valle-Sássina, Marchtal, Neresheim etc., Hereditary Postmaster General.'' The current head of the house of Thurn and Taxis is Albert II, 12th Prince of Thurn and Taxis, son of

Johannes Johannes is a Medieval Latin form of the personal name that usually appears as " John" in English language contexts. It is a variant of the Greek and Classical Latin variants (Ιωάννης, '' Ioannes''), itself derived from the Hebrew name '' Y ...

and his wife, Gloria. The family is one of the wealthiest in Germany. The family's brewery was sold to the Paulaner Group of

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

in 1996, but it still produces beer under the brand of ''Thurn und Taxis''.

Princes of Thurn and Taxis

* Eugen Alexander, 1st Prince 1695–1714 (1652–1714) ** Anselm Franz, 2nd Prince 1714–1739 (1681–1739) *** Alexander Ferdinand, 3rd Prince 1739–1773 (1704–1773) **** Karl Anselm, 4th Prince 1773–1805 (1733–1805) ***** Karl Alexander, 5th Prince 1805–1827 (1770–1827) ****** Maximilian Karl, 6th Prince 1827–1871 (1802–1871) ******* '' Maximilian Anton, Hereditary Prince of Thurn and Taxis (1831–1867)'' ******** Maximilian Maria, 7th Prince 1871–1885 (1862–1885) ******** Albert I, 8th Prince 1885–1952 (1867–1952) *********

Franz Joseph Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

, 9th Prince 1952–1971 (1893–1971) ********** '' Prince Gabriel (1922–1942) ********* Karl August, 10th Prince 1971–1982 (1898–1982) ********** Johannes Baptista, 11th Prince 1982–1990 (1926–1990) *********** Albert II, 12th Prince 1990–present (born 1983) ********* ''Prince Raphael Rainer (1906–1993)'' ********** '' Prince Max Emanuel'' (1935–2020), two sons without dynastic rights ********* ''Prince Philipp Ernst (1908–1964)'' ********** ''Prince Albert Friedrich (1930–2021)'' **** ''Prince Maximilian Joseph (1769–1831)'', founder of the Czech branch of the family ***** ''Prince Karl Anselm (1792–1844)'' ****** ''Prince Hugo Maximilian (1817–1889)'' ******* ''Prince Alexander Johann (1851–1939)'' ******** ''Prince Erich Lamoral (1876–1952)'' ********* ''Prince Johann von Nepomuk (1908–1959)'' ********** (1) Prince Friedrich (born 1950), ''

heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of a person with a better claim to the position in question. This is in contrast to an heir app ...

********** (2) Prince Karl Ferdinand (born 1952), three sons without dynastic rights ********** (3) Prince Maximilian (born 1955) ******** '' Prince Alexander (1881–1937), 1st Principe della Torre e Tasso and Duke of Castel Duino 1923–1937 (some heirs are without dynastic rights'') ********* '' Prince Raimundo '' ********** '' Prince Carlo '' ********* '' Prince Luigi '' ********** ''Prince Alessandro'' ********* '' Princess Margarete'' The Thurn and Taxis family came to massive media attention during the late 1970s through mid-1980s when Prince Johannes married Countess Mariae Gloria of Schönburg-Glauchau, a member of an impoverished but mediatized noble family. The couple's wild, "

jet set The jet set is a social group of wealthy and fashionable people who travel the world to participate in social activities unavailable to ordinary people. The term was introduced in 1949 and replaced " café society"; it reflected a style of life ...

" lifestyle and Princess Gloria's over-the-top appearance (characterized by bright hair colours and ''

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

'' clothes) earned her the nickname of "Princess TNT".Princess TNT
(also referred to as "Princess TNT, the dynamite socialite") according to the June 2006 edition of Vanity Fair Magazine).

Popular culture

* The mail monopoly of Thurn and Taxis is central to the plot of ''

The Crying of Lot 49 ''The Crying of Lot 49'' is a novel by the American author Thomas Pynchon. It was published by J. B. Lippincott & Co. on April27, 1966. The shortest of Pynchon's novels, the plot follows Oedipa Maas, a young Californian woman who begins to embr ...

'' by

Thomas Pynchon Thomas Ruggles Pynchon Jr. ( , ; born May 8, 1937) is an American novelist noted for his dense and complex novels. His fiction and non-fiction writings encompass a vast array of subject matter, Literary genre, genres and Theme (narrative), th ...

. * The board game ''

Thurn and Taxis The Princely House of Thurn and Taxis (, ) is a family of German nobility that is part of the '' Briefadel''. It was a key player in the postal services in Europe during the 16th century, until the end of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, and beca ...

'', 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. * Thurn und Taxis are also mentioned in several volumes of the 163x series by

Eric Flint Eric Flint (February 6, 1947 – July 17, 2022) was an American author, editor, and e-publisher. The majority of his works are alternate history science fiction, but he also wrote humorous fantasy adventures. His works have been listed on ' ...

and others, e.g. '' 1635: The Dreeson Incident'' and '' 1636: The Saxon Uprising''. * The credits for Season 3, Episode 4 of the television show ''

The Good Place ''The Good Place'' is an American fantasy-comedy television series created by Michael Schur for NBC. The series premiered on September 19, 2016, and concluded on January 30, 2020, after four seasons consisting of 53 episodes. Although the pl ...

'' features a character named "The Baroness von Thurn und Taxis," played by Ilka Urbach.

References

Sources

* Wolfgang Behringer, ''Thurn und Taxis, Die Geschichte ihrer Post und ihrer Unternehmen'', München, Zürich 1990 * 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, * Fritz Ohmann, ''Die Anfänge des Postwesens und die Taxis'', Leipzig 1909 * Joseph Rübsam, ''Johann Baptista von Taxis'', Freiburg im Breisgau 1889 * Marecek, Zdenek, ''Loucen a Thurn Taxisove. Pohledy do doby minule i nedavne.'' Obec Loucen, 1998.

External links