, title = Prince of Thurn and Taxis , image = Karl Alexander von Thurn und Taxis.jpg , caption = , reign = 13 November 1805 – 15 July 1827 , reign-type = Period , coronation = , predecessor = Karl Anselm , successor = Maximilian Karl , succession = Head of the House of Thurn and Taxis , spouse =

Duchess Therese of Mecklenburg-Strelitz , image = Theresa of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.jpg , caption = , reign = 25 May 1789 – 15 July 1827 , coronation = , succession = Princess consort of Thurn and Taxis , spouse = , issue = Princess Charlotte ...

, issue = Princess 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 , title = Prince of Thurn and Taxis , image = MKvTuT.jpg , caption = , reign = 15 July 1827 – 10 November 1871 , reign-type = Period , coronation = , predecessor = Karl Alexander , successor ...

Prince Friedrich Wilhelm , 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 =

Karl Anselm, 4th Prince of Thurn and Taxis , image = Fürst Carl Anselm.jpg , caption = , reign = 17 March 1773 – 13 November 1805 , reign-type = Period , coronation = , predecessor = Alexander Ferdinand , successor = Karl Alexander , su ...

, mother =

Duchess Auguste of Württemberg , title = , reign =17 March 1773 – 1776 , image = Augusta di Wurtt.jpg , caption = , coronation = , succession = Princess consort of Thurn and Taxis , spouse =Karl Anselm, 4th Prince of Th ...

, birth_date = , birth_place = Imperial City of Regensburg,

Kingdom of Germany The Kingdom of Germany or German Kingdom ( la, regnum Teutonicorum "kingdom of the Germans", "German kingdom", "kingdom of Germany") was the mostly Germanic-speaking East Frankish kingdom, which was formed by the Treaty of Verdun in 843, especi ...

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

, death_date = , death_place =

Schloss Taxis Schloss Taxis (originally known as Burg Trugenhofen) is a privately owned castle in Dischingen in the Heidenheim district of Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest G ...

Dischingen Dischingen is a municipality in the district of Heidenheim in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The municipality consists of several smaller villages that have been absorbed into Dischingen, Ballmertshofen, Demmingen, Dunstelkingen, Eglin ...

Kingdom of Württemberg The Kingdom of Württemberg (german: Königreich Württemberg ) was a German state that existed from 1805 to 1918, located within the area that is now Baden-Württemberg. The kingdom was a continuation of the Duchy of Württemberg, which exist ...

, burial_place = St. Emmeram's Abbey , 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 lette ...

Karl Alexander, 5th 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: ''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 ''Reichspost'' (; "Imperial Mail") was the name of the postal service of Germany from 1866 to 1945. ''Deutsche Reichspost'' Upon the out break of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 and the break-up of the German Confederation in the Peace of ...

until the resignation of

Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor Francis II (german: Franz II.; 12 February 1768 – 2 March 1835) was the last Holy Roman Emperor (from 1792 to 1806) and the founder and Emperor of the Austrian Empire, from 1804 to 1835. He assumed the title of Emperor of Austria in response ...

Early life

Karl Alexander was born as the son of

and his first wife,

. He studied at the Universities of Strasbourg,

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg is ...

, and

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...

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 Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the f ...

. 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 The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

Marriage and family

Karl Alexander married

, fourth eldest child and third eldest daughter of

Charles II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg Charles II (Charles Louis Frederick; 10 October 1741 – 6 November 1816) was ruler of the state of Mecklenburg-Strelitz from 1794 until his death. Originally ruling as duke, he was raised to the rank of grand duke in 1815. Prior to succeeding to ...

and his wife

Princess Friederike of Hesse-Darmstadt Princess Friederike Caroline Luise of Hesse-Darmstadt (20 August 1752 – 22 May 1782) was a member of the House of Hesse and by marriage a Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. She is the direct most recent common matrilineal ancestress (through ...

, on 25 May 1789 in

Neustrelitz Neustrelitz (; East Low German: ''Niegenstrelitz'') is a town in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated on the shore of the Zierker See in the Mecklenburg Lake District. From 1738 ...

Mecklenburg-Strelitz The Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was a duchy in northern Germany consisting of the eastern fifth of the historic Mecklenburg region, roughly corresponding with the present-day Mecklenburg-Strelitz district (the former Lordship of Stargard), ...

. Karl Alexander and Therese had seven children: *Princess Charlotte Luise of Thurn and Taxis (24 March 1790 – 22 October 1790) *Prince George Karl of Thurn and Taxis (26 March 1792 – 20 January 1795) * Princess Maria Theresia of Thurn and Taxis (6 July 1794 – 18 August 1874), ancestress of

Gloria, Princess of Thurn and Taxis Gloria of Thurn and Taxis (''Mariae Gloria Ferdinanda Joachima Josephine Wilhelmine Huberta''; born Countess Gloria von Schönburg-Glauchau, 23 February 1960) is a German socialite, businesswoman, Catholic activist, and artist. Through her marria ...

*Princess Luise Friederike of Thurn and Taxis (29 August 1798 – 1 December 1798) * Princess Maria Sophia Dorothea of Thurn and Taxis (4 March 1800 – 20 December 1870) *

(3 November 1802 – 10 November 1871) *Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Thurn and Taxis (29 January 1805 – 7 September 1825)

Continuation of the post

After the end of the

, 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 The Confederated States of the Rhine, simply known as the Confederation of the Rhine, also known as Napoleonic Germany, was a confederation of German client states established at the behest of Napoleon some months after he defeated Austria an ...

members, such as

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden is ...

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 lan ...

, and

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Würt ...

, however, nationalized the postal system two years later. After the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...

, Karl Alexander took over the Hessian and Thuringian postal services, as well as those in the

Hanseatic League The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label=Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe. Growing from a few North German to ...

cities of

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

, and

Lübeck Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the stat ...

, and

Schaffhausen Schaffhausen (; gsw, Schafuuse; french: Schaffhouse; it, Sciaffusa; rm, Schaffusa; en, Shaffhouse) is a list of towns in Switzerland, town with historic roots, a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in northern Switzerland, and the ...

. 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 Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

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 King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

, 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

. 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

Liberec Liberec (; german: Reichenberg ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 103,000 inhabitants and it is the fifth-largest city in the country. It lies on the Lusatian Neisse, in a basin surrounded by mountains. The city centre is well preser ...

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

Ancestry

References

* Wolfgang Behringer: ''Thurn und Taxis'', München 1990 * Wolfgang Behringer: ''Im Zeichen des Merkur'', Göttingen 2003 * Wolfgang Behringer: ''Innovative Reichsfürsten'', in:

Damals ''Damals'' is a German monthly popular scientific history magazine. The magazine has been issued since 1969 and aims primarily at students, teachers, university students, scientists and a readership interested in historical science. The German ...

, 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 ''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, Genealogie Thurn und Taxis, Tafel 131 * Eugen Lennhoff/Oskar Posner: Internationales Freimaurer-Lexikon. Wien 1932, Nachdruck: Almathea-Verlag München 1980

External links

, - ! colspan="3" style="background: #bebebe; color: #000000" , Postal offices {{DEFAULTSORT:Karl Alexander Of Thurn And Taxis, Prince 1770 births 1827 deaths Hereditary Princes of Thurn and Taxis German landowners People from Regensburg German Roman Catholics Members of the Bavarian Reichsrat Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria Members of the Württembergian Chamber of Lords Burials at the Gruftkapelle, St. Emmeram's Abbey