Karl Alexander, 5th Prince of Thurn and Taxis

Karl Alexander, 5th Prince of Thurn and Taxis, full German name: Karl Alexander Fürst von Thurn und Taxis (22 February 1770 – 15 July 1827) was the fifth Prince of Thurn and Taxis, head of the Thurn-und-Taxis-Post, and Head of the Princely House of Thurn and Taxis from 13 November 1805 until his death on 15 July 1827. With the death of his father on 13 November 1805, he became nominal Generalpostmeister of the Imperial Reichspost until the resignation of Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor.

For other people named Karl Alexander, see Karl Alexander (disambiguation).

Karl Alexander
Prince of Thurn and Taxis
Head of the House of Thurn and Taxis
Period13 November 1805 – 15 July 1827
PredecessorKarl Anselm
SuccessorMaximilian Karl
Born(1770-02-22)22 February 1770
Imperial City of Regensburg, Holy Roman Empire
Died15 July 1827(1827-07-15) (aged 57)
Schloss Taxis, Dischingen, Kingdom of Württemberg
Burial
St. Emmeram's Abbey
SpouseDuchess Therese of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
IssuePrincess Charlotte Luise
Prince Georg Karl
Maria Theresia, Princess Esterházy of Galántha
Princess Luise Friederike
Maria Sophia, Duchess Paul Wilhelm of Württemberg
Maximilian Karl, 6th Prince of Thurn and Taxis
Prince Friedrich Wilhelm
Full name
German: Karl Alexander
HouseThurn and Taxis
FatherKarl Anselm, 4th Prince of Thurn and Taxis
MotherDuchess Auguste of Württemberg
ReligionRoman Catholic

Early life

Karl Alexander studied at the Universities of Strasbourg, Würzburg, and Mainz and then subsequently went on a European tour. In 1797, he was appointed successor to his ailing father's position as Prinzipalkommissar at the Perpetual Imperial Diet in Regensburg. Karl Alexander also worked for the Thurn and Taxis postal empire, operating during a decline due to the gradual loss of territory as a result of the Napoleonic Wars.

Marriage and family

Karl Alexander married Duchess Therese of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, fourth eldest child and third eldest daughter of Charles II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg and his wife Princess Friederike of Hesse-Darmstadt, on 25 May 1789 in Neustrelitz, Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Karl Alexander and Therese had seven children:

Continuation of the post
Karl Alexander, 5th Prince of Thurn and Taxis

After the end of the Holy Roman Empire, the Thurn and Taxis postal system continued to survive as a private company. Since 1806, Karl Alexander headed a private postal company, the Thurn-und-Taxis-Post. It existed first as a feud of some of the Confederation of the Rhine members, such as Baden, Bavaria, and Württemberg. Bavaria, however, nationalized the postal system two years later. After the Congress of Vienna, Karl Alexander took over the Hessian and Thuringian postal services, as well as those in the Hanseatic League cities of Bremen, Hamburg, and Lübeck, and Schaffhausen. From 1820, the company began to prosper again, so Karl Alexander began to acquire large amounts of land holdings.

Acquisition of new land

According to the Confederation of the Rhine Act, agreed upon between Napoleon I of France and the Confederation of the Rhine princes, the Principality of Thurn and Taxis lost its independence and was mediatised in 1806. Since then, the Princes of Thurn and Taxis and hence Karl Alexander, depending on the territory, were subjects of either the King of Württemberg, or the Princes of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. In return, the House of Thurn and Taxis received the Imperial Abbey of St. Emmeram and associated territories in Regensburg. Karl Alexander also received as the family head of the House of Thurn and Taxis, Prussian possessions in the Grand Duchy of Poland. In 1822/23, he bought from the Count Kinsky and others the Burg Richenburg in Bohemia.

Ancestry

References
    • Wolfgang Behringer: Thurn und Taxis, München 1990 ISBN 3-492-03336-9
    • Wolfgang Behringer: Im Zeichen des Merkur, Göttingen 2003 ISBN 3-525-35187-9
    • Wolfgang Behringer: Innovative Reichsfürsten, in: Damals, Juli 2005
    • Martin Dallmeier: Quellen zur Geschichte des europäischen Postwesens, Lassleben, Kallmünz 1977
    • Ludwig Kalmus: Weltgeschichte der Post, Wien 1937
    • Max Piendl: Das fürstliche Haus Thurn und Taxis, Regensburg 1980
    • Europäische Stammtafeln Band V, Genealogie Thurn und Taxis, Tafel 131
    • Eugen Lennhoff/Oskar Posner: Internationales Freimaurer-Lexikon. Wien 1932, Nachdruck: Almathea-Verlag München 1980

    Media related to Karl Alexander, 5th Prince of Thurn and Taxis at Wikimedia Commons

    Karl Alexander, 5th Prince of Thurn and Taxis
    Cadet branch of the House of Tassis
    Born: 22 February 1770 Died: 15 July 1827
    German nobility
    Preceded by
    Karl Anselm    		 Prince of Thurn and Taxis
    13 November 1805 – 15 July 1827    		 Succeeded by
    Maximilian Karl
    Postal offices
    Preceded by
    Karl Anselm as Postmaster General of the Holy Roman Empire    		 Postmaster General of the Thurn-und-Taxis-Post
    1806 – 15 July 1827    		 Succeeded by
    Maximilian Karl
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