, title = Prince of Thurn and Taxis , image = Franz Joseph, 9th Prince of Thurn and Taxis with Karl August, 10th Prince of Thurn and Taxis, ca 1910.jpg , caption = Franz Joseph with his younger brother, Karl August, circa 1910 , reign = 22 January 1952 – 13 July 1971 , reign-type = Period , coronation = , predecessor = Albert I , successor = Karl August , succession = Head of the House of Thurn and Taxis , spouse = Princess Isabel Maria of Braganza , issue = Prince Gabriel
Princess Michaela
Princess Helene
Princess Maria Theresia
Princess Maria Ferdinande , house =

Thurn and Taxis The Princely House of Thurn and Taxis (german: link=no, Fürstenhaus Thurn und 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 ...

, father =

Albert, 8th Prince of Thurn and Taxis , title = Prince of Thurn and Taxis , image =AlbertThurnTaxis.jpg , caption = , reign = 2 June 1885 – 22 January 1952 , reign-type = Period , coronation = , predecessor = Maximilian Maria , ...

, mother =

Archduchess Margarethe Klementine of Austria , image = Habsburg–Lotaringiai Margit Klementina Mária főhercegnő.jpg , caption = , reign = 15 July 1890 – 3 April 1919 , reign-type = Tenure , coronation = , succession = Princess consort of Thurn and Taxis ...

, birth_date = , birth_place = Regensburg,

Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria (german: Königreich Bayern; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1805 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German E ...

, German Empire , death_date = , death_place = Regensburg,

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

, burial_place = Gruftkapelle, Saint Emmeram's Abbey, Regensburg , religion =

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

Franz Joseph Maximilian Maria Antonius Ignatius Lamoral, 9th Prince of Thurn and Taxis, full German name: ''Franz Josef Maximilian Maria Antonius Ignatius Lamoral Fürst von Thurn und Taxis'' (21 December 1893, Regensburg,

– 13 July 1971, Regensburg,

, Germany) was the ninth Prince of Thurn and Taxis and Head of the Princely House of Thurn and Taxis from 22 January 1952 until his death on 13 July 1971.

Early life

Franz Joseph was the eldest son of

and his wife

. His christening was attended by

Franz Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until hi ...

. Franz Joseph had six younger brothers and a sister. One of his brothers was Prince Max Emanuel of Thurn and Taxis (1902–1994), a member of the

Order of Saint Benedict , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

known as Pater Emmeram.

Education and World War I service

Franz Joseph received a humanistic education by private teachers. Beginning in the winter semester of 1912, Franz Joseph studied at both the

University of Strasbourg The University of Strasbourg (french: Université de Strasbourg, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. The French university traces its history to the ...

and

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...

. Because of the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, he could not complete his studies. On 6 August 1914, Franz Joseph joined the Prussian Elite Regiment Gardes du Corps. During the war, he was promoted to lieutenant. After the war's end in January 1919, Franz Joseph returned to Regensburg.Angaben nach Dallmeier, Schad, a. a. O., S. 156.

Marriage and family

Franz Joseph married Princess Isabel Maria of Braganza, daughter of Miguel, Duke of Braganza and his wife Princess Maria Theresa of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg, on 23 November 1920 at Schloss Bronnbach,

Bronnbach Wertheim ( East Franconian: ''Wärde'') is a town in southwestern Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg with a population of around 23,400. It is located on the confluence of the rivers Tauber and Main. Wertheim is best known for its ...

, Wertheim,

, Germany. Franz Joseph and Isabel Maria had five children: * Prince Gabriel of Thurn and Taxis (16 October 1922 – 17 December 1942) *Princess Michaela of Thurn and Taxis (16 October 1922 – 17 October 1922) *Princess Helene of Thurn and Taxis (27 May 1924 – 27 October 1991) *Princess Maria Theresia of Thurn and Taxis (10 September 1925 – 27 April 1997) *Princess Maria Ferdinande of Thurn and Taxis (19 December 1927 – 9 June 2018); married Prince Franz Josef of Hohenzollern on 15 July 1950, later divorced. Together with his wife, Franz Joseph resided at Schloss Haus in Neueglofsheim (

Upper Palatinate The Upper Palatinate (german: Oberpfalz, , ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany, and is located in the east of Bavaria. Geography The Upper Palatinate is a landscape with low mountains and numerous ponds and lakes ...

) where he managed the property and its interests. There, he also took an interest in hunting, history, and art then. He later bequeathed Schloss Haus's large private library to the Prince Thurn und Taxis Hofbibliothek.

World War II

At the age of 46, Franz Joseph served

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

in the

Invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week af ...

in 1939. By the end of June 1940, he was serving in the

Battle of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...

. Subsequently, Franz Joseph was a crew chief stationed in France for two and a half years until he was dismissed due to a decree from

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

on the "inability of the German Defense nobility" retroactive to 31 March 1944 by

Generalfeldmarschall ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (from Old High German ''marahscalc'', "marshal, stable master, groom"; en, general field marshal, field marshal general, or field marshal; ; often abbreviated to ''Feldmarschall'') was a rank in the armies of several ...

Wilhelm Keitel Wilhelm Bodewin Johann Gustav Keitel (; 22 September 188216 October 1946) was a German field marshal and war criminal who held office as chief of the '' Oberkommando der Wehrmacht'' (OKW), the high command of Nazi Germany's Armed Forces, durin ...

of the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

. Franz Joseph's son

Gabriel In Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብ� ...

was killed in action on 17 December 1942 in the

Battle of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad (23 August 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II where Nazi Germany and its allies unsuccessfully fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad (later re ...

Later life

Franz Joseph resided for most of the year at Schloss Haus, but spent winters at Schloss Thurn und Taxis in Regensburg. In addition to managing the family estate, he dedicated himself increasingly to the preservation of the history of Regensburg and the former St. Emmeram's Abbey, the residence of the Princely House of Thurn and Taxis. On 21 December 1963, Franz Joseph was made an Honorary Citizen of the City of Regensburg "in appreciation of the high contribution to the economic, social and cultural issues." He was also made an honorary member of the Roman Catholic student association K.D.St.V. Rupertia Regensburg. Franz Joseph survived his wife Isabel Maria, who died on 12 January 1970, about one and a half years before him. He died after a severe illness on 13 July 1971 and was interred in the burial chapel at St. Emmeram's Abbey. In Regensburg, the Erbprinz-Franz-Joseph-Straße is named after him.

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Franz Joseph Of Thurn And Taxis, Prince 1893 births 1971 deaths People from Regensburg Princes of Thurn und Taxis German landowners German Roman Catholics Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Burials at the Gruftkapelle, St. Emmeram's Abbey Hereditary Princes of Thurn and Taxis German Army personnel of World War I Military personnel from Regensburg