Eugen Alexander Franz, 1st Prince of Thurn and Taxis, full

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

name: ''Eugen Alexander Franz Fürst von Thurn und Taxis'' (baptized 11 January 1652 – 21 February 1714) was the first 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 ''

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 ...

'', and Head of the House of Thurn and Taxis from 13 September 1676 until his death.

Early life

Eugen Alexander Franz was the second son of Lamoral II Claudius Franz, Count of Thurn and Taxis and his wife Countess Anna Franziska Eugenia of Horn. The date of his birth is unknown, but Eugen Alexander Franz was

baptise Baptism (from ) is a Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by sprinkling or pouring water on the head, or by immersing in water either partially or completely, traditionally three t ...

d on 11 January 1652 in

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 ...

Postmaster General

After the death of his father, Eugen Alexander Franz succeeded to the positions of Postmaster General of the Imperial Reichspost and 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 ...

. In 1681, the last Habsburg King of

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Charles II appointed Eugen Alexander Franz from a count to a prince, and

Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I (Leopold Ignaz Joseph Balthasar Franz Felician; ; 9 June 1640 – 5 May 1705) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, List of Croatian monarchs, Croatia, and List of Bohemian monarchs, Bohemia. The second son of Ferdinand III, Holy Rom ...

made him an

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 ...

in 1695. After the French occupation of the Spanish Netherlands during 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 ...

, the new Spanish King Philip V, grandson of

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

, deposed Eugen Alexander Franz as Post Master General of the

.Dallmeier, Quellen, S. 246–250. In 1702, he moved his postal system's headquarters from

Frankfurt am Main 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 ...

where it originated.

Marriage and issue

Eugen Alexander Franz was married twice. He married first to Princess Anna Adelheid of

Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg was a county and later a principality in southern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, located in the historical territory of Heiligenberg. It was created as a partition of Fürstenberg-Baar in 1559, and it suffered one partition ...

, youngest daughter and child of Hermann Egon, Count of

and his wife Countess Franziska of Fürstenberg-Stühlingen. Eugen Alexander Franz and Anna Adelheid had the following children: *Countess Dorothea of Thurn and Taxis (born and died in 1679) *a son whose name is unknown (born and died in 1680) *

Anselm Franz, 2nd Prince of Thurn and Taxis Anselm Franz, 2nd Prince of Thurn and Taxis, (30 January 1681 – 8 November 1739) was the second Prince of Thurn and Taxis, Postmaster General of the Imperial Reichspost, and Head of the House of Thurn and Taxis from 21 February 1714 until his de ...

(1681–1739) married Maria Ludovika Anna Franziska, Princess of

Lobkowicz The House of Lobkowicz (''Lobkovicové'' in modern Czech, sg. ''z Lobkovic''; ''Lobkowitz'' in German) is an important Bohemian noble family that dates back to the 14th century and is one of the oldest noble families of the region. Over the ce ...

*Count Jakob Lamoral of Thurn and Taxis (?-?) *Count Heinrich Franz of Thurn and Taxis (born and died in 1682) *Countess Anna Franziska of Thurn and Taxis (1683–1763) married Franz Ernst, Count and Altgrave of Salm-Reifferscheidt *Countess Eleonora Ferdinanda of Thurn and Taxis (born and died in 1685) *Count Inigo Lamoral Maria Felix Franz of Thurn and Taxis (1686–1717), soldier, died at siege of Belgrade. *Countess Anna Theresia of Thurn and Taxis (born and died in 1689) *Countess Maria Elisabeth of Thurn and Taxis (born and died in 1691) After the death of his first wife, Eugen Alexander Franz married Countess Anna Augusta of

Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst was a County, and later Principality in northeastern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The name Hohenlohe derives from the castle of Hohenloch near Uffenheim in Mittelfranken, which came into the possession of the ...

, daughter of Ludwig Gustav, Count of

and his second wife Anna Barbara von Schönborn. Eugen Alexander Franz and Anna Augusta had the following children: *Prince Lothar Franz of Thurn and Taxis (1705–1712) *Prince Maximilian Philipp of Thurn and Taxis (born and died in 1706) *Prince Philipp Lamoral of Thurn and Taxis (born and died in 1708) *Princess Maria Josepha of Thurn and Taxis (born and died in 1711)

Honours

* Knight of the Austrian Order of the Golden Fleece

References

Sources

* Wolfgang Behringer, ''Thurn und Taxis'', Piper, München/Zürich 1990 * Martin Dallmeier, ''Quellen zur Geschichte des europäischen Postwesens 1501–1806, Teil II, Urkunden-Regesten'', Verlag Michael Lassleben, Kallmünz 1977 * Martin Dallmeier, in: ''De post van Thurn und Taxis, La Poste des Tour et Tassis 1489–1794'', Brüssel 1982 *

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 t ...

Band V, Haus Thurn und Taxis, Tafel 129 und 130

External links

, - ! colspan="3" style="background: #bebebe; color: #000000" , Postal offices {{DEFAULTSORT:Eugen Alexander Franz Of Thurn And Taxis, Prince 1652 births 1714 deaths Nobility from Brussels Princes of Thurn und Taxis Counts of Thurn und Taxis German Roman Catholics Knights of the Golden Fleece Postmasters general of the Holy Roman Empire