, image = Anselm Franz von Thurn und Taxis.jpg , caption = , succession = Prince of Thurn and Taxis , reign = 21 February 1714 – 8 November 1739 , reign-type = Period , coronation = , predecessor = Eugen Alexander Franz , successor = Alexander Ferdinand , spouse = Maria Ludovika Anna Franziska, Princess of Lobkowicz , issue =

Alexander Ferdinand, 3rd Prince of Thurn and Taxis , title = Prince of Thurn and Taxis , image = Alexander Ferdinand von Thurn und Taxis.jpg , caption = , reign = 8 November 1739 – 17 March 1773 , reign-type = Period , coronation = , predecessor ...

Princess Maria Philippine Eleonore
Maria Augusta, Duchess of Württemberg
Prince Christian Adam Egon , 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 e ...

, father =

Eugen Alexander Franz, 1st Prince of Thurn and Taxis , image = Eugen Alexander von Thurn und Taxis.jpg , caption = , reign = 13 September 1676–1695 , reign-type = Period , predecessor = Lamoral II Claudius Franz , successor = himself as Prince , succes ...

, mother = Princess Anna Adelheid of Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg , birth_date = (date of baptism) , birth_place =

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

Spanish Netherlands Spanish Netherlands ( Spanish: Países Bajos Españoles; Dutch: Spaanse Nederlanden; French: Pays-Bas espagnols; German: Spanische Niederlande.) (historically in Spanish: ''Flandes'', the name "Flanders" was used as a '' pars pro toto'') was the ...

(place of baptism) , death_date = , death_place =

Austrian Netherlands The Austrian Netherlands nl, Oostenrijkse Nederlanden; french: Pays-Bas Autrichiens; german: Österreichische Niederlande; la, Belgium Austriacum. was the territory of the Burgundian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire between 1714 and 1797. The pe ...

, burial_place = , 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 let ...

Anselm Franz, 2nd Prince of Thurn and Taxis, full

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

name: ''Anselm Franz Fürst von Thurn und Taxis'' (30 January 1681 – 8 November 1739) was the second Prince of Thurn and Taxis,

Postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

General of the Imperial Reichspost, and Head of the House of Thurn and Taxis from 21 February 1714 until his death on 8 November 1739.

Early life

Anselm Franz was the eldest child and son of

and his wife Princess Anna Adelheid of Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg. The date of his birth is unknown, but Anselm Franz was

baptise Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

d on 30 January 1681 at the

Our Blessed Lady of Zavel Church nl, Onze-Lieve-Vrouw ter Zavelkerk , native_name_lang = , image = Brussels, église Notre Dame du Sablon oeg2043-00070 foto7 2015-06-07 13.28.jpg , image_size = 250px , alt = , caption ...

in Brussels.

Postmaster General

Under his father, at the beginning of the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...

the administration of the Imperial Reichspost was moved from Brussels to Frankfurt am Main. When his father died, Anselm Franz was appointed Postmaster General by Charles VI in 1715, and returned to the family's home in Brussels, but the city now had no significance for the Reichspost. He therefore moved back to Frankfurt am Main in 1724, where he bought a plot of land on which he later started construction of the

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including ...

Palais Thurn und Taxis The Palais Thurn und Taxis () in Frankfurt, Germany was built from 1731 to 1739 by Robert de Cotte and commissioned by the Imperial Postmaster, Prince Anselm Franz von Thurn und Taxis (1714–1739). The building was heavily damaged in World Wa ...

in 1729. In 1725, he was able to lease the postal system of the

as a

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form ...

. His move to Frankfurt was drawn out over several years, as the city council had some objections and in any case the construction of his palace took its time. From 1737 he lived in the still unfinished palace in Frankfurt, but then returned in 1739 to Brussels, where he died unexpectedly.

Marriages and family

Anselm Franz married Czech noblewoman Princess Maria Ludovika Anna Franziska of Lobkowicz, daughter of Ferdinand August Leopold, Prince of Lobkowicz, Duke of Sagan and his wife Margravine Maria Anna Wilhelmine of Baden-Baden, on 10 January 1703. Franz Anselm and Maria Ludovika had four children: *

(1704–1773) *Princess Philippine Eleonore Maria of Thurn and Taxis (1705–1706) * Princess Maria Augusta of Thurn and Taxis (1706–1756) *Prince Christian Adam Egon of Thurn and Taxis (1710–1745)

Legacy in telecom industry

Anselm Franz von Thurn und Taxis had connections with the French Postmaster who was based in the Paris Hôtel de Villeroy. While the network of the Thurn & Taxis Imperial Post covered the

territories, they did not have access to the one of the Bourbons. Louis Leon Pajot was the head of the Pajot & Rouillé postal operations with a strong infrastructure in the French Bourbon territories. Pajot was a confidant of King

Louis XIV Louis XIV (Louis Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was List of French monarchs, King of France from 14 May 1643 until his death in 1715. His reign of 72 years and 110 days is the Li ...

who appreciated the efficiency of the Pajot & Rouillé postal service. Louis XIV died in 1715. On May 21, 1738, a decision of the next Bourbon King

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reache ...

and his minister of finance,

Cardinal Fleury Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **'' Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, th ...

brought a sudden and unexpected end to the French Postal Company. In the early morning of the day Police interrupted all activities. The sudden end of the Pajot & Rouillé Post very much impressed Anselm Franz von Thurn & Taxis, as he did not want the same happen to the Thurn & Taxis postal operations. The story was transmitted from one generation to another. In 1867, 129 years later, the State of

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

brought an end to the Thurn & Taxis Post, but unlike Louis XV, a significant compensation payment of 3.000.000 Thaler had to be made. In 1952

Johannes, 11th Prince of Thurn and Taxis , father = Karl August, 10th Prince of Thurn and Taxis , mother = Infanta Maria Anna of Portugal , birth_date = , birth_place = Schloss Höfling, Regensburg, Bavaria, Weimar Republic , death_date = , death_place = Munich, Germany , pla ...

inherited what was left from the Postal fortune. 1986, mai he was in Paris and showed the still existing Postal Building to a young student. Palais Thurn und Taxis Modell

The idea came up to relaunch some Telecom activities in the old building which was almost unchanged since the times of the Postal Services. His families former postal headquarters, the Palais Tour et Taxis in Brussels and the Frankfurt

had been destroyed. According to Johannes von Thurn & Taxis "Spirit of Telecommunications had remained in the old walls" of the 9-11 rue des Déchargeurs mansion in Paris. With the help of Thurn und Taxis the student opened a small Phone Boutique as a "test project", today Cremerie de Paris N°2 a few meters away from the Hôtel de Villeroy Bourbon. ... 249 years after the end of the postal operations. Johannes von Thurn und Taxis watched the "test" but he died very early 1990, December 14. With the 1993 arrival of the Internet the "test" project turned into a global Internet Directory Publishing company and the Brand Museum Cremerie de Paris based in the historic building. Attracted by the unusual Telecom history major Technology Corporations like Amazon or Microsoft are now coming to organise brand expos or product launches. As a reminder of PTT history, Anselm Franz von Thurn und Taxis his Posthorn and the

Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; french: links=yes, tour Eiffel ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower. Locally nicknamed ...

are part of the Logo of the Whitepages of over 50 different countries, White Pages.jp for Japan
/ref> all edited from the old Postal Building in Paris.

Honours

* Knight of the Austrian Order of the Golden Fleece

Ancestry

References

Sources

* * *

Europäische Stammtafeln ''Europäische Stammtafeln'' - German for ''European Family Trees'' - is a series of twenty-nine books which contain sets of genealogical tables of the most influential families of Medieval European history. It is a standard reference work for thos ...

Band V ! colspan="3" style="background: #bebebe; color: #000000" , Postal offices {{DEFAULTSORT:Anselm Franz Of Thurn And Taxis, Prince 1681 births 1739 deaths Nobility from Brussels German Roman Catholics Princes of Thurn und Taxis German landowners Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria Postmasters General of the Holy Roman Empire Hereditary Princes of Thurn and Taxis