Eugen Alexander Franz, 1st Prince of Thurn and Taxis

Eugen Alexander Franz, 1st Prince of Thurn and Taxis,[1] full German name: Eugen Alexander Franz Fürst von Thurn und Taxis[1] (baptized 11 January 1652 – 21 February 1714)[1] was the first Prince of Thurn and Taxis, Postmaster General of the Imperial Reichspost, and Head of the House of Thurn and Taxis from 13 September 1676 until his death.[1]

Eugen Alexander Franz
Count of Thurn and Taxis
Period	13 September 1676–1695
Predecessor	Lamoral II Claudius Franz
Successor	himself as Prince
Prince of Thurn and Taxis
Period	1695 – 21 February 1714
Predecessor	himself as Count
Successor	Anselm Franz
Born	11 January 1652 (date of baptism) Brussels, Spanish Netherlands (place of baptism)
Died	21 February 1714 (aged 62) Frankfurt am Main, Free Imperial City of Frankfurt, Holy Roman Empire
Spouse	Princess Anna Adelheid of Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg Countess Anna Augusta of Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst
Issue	Countess Dorothea Anselm Franz, 2nd Prince of Thurn and Taxis Count Jakob Lamoral Count Heinrich Franz Countess Anna Franziska Countess Eleonora Ferdinanda Count Inigo Lamoral Countess Anna Theresia Countess Maria Elisabeth Prince Lothar Franz Prince Maximilian Philipp Prince Philipp Lamoral Princess Maria Josepha
Full name German: Eugen Alexander Franz
House	Thurn und Taxis
Father	Lamoral II Claudius Franz, Count of Thurn and Taxis
Mother	Countess Anna Franziska Eugenia of Horn
Religion	Roman Catholic

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.[1] The date of his birth is unknown, but Eugen Alexander Franz was baptised on 11 January 1652 in Brussels.[1]

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. In 1681, the last Habsburg King of Spain Charles II appointed Eugen Alexander Franz from a count to a prince, and Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor made him an Imperial prince in 1695.

After the French occupation of the Spanish Netherlands during the War of the Spanish Succession, the new Spanish King Philip V, grandson of Louis XIV of France, deposed Eugen Alexander Franz as Post Master General of the Spanish Netherlands.[2] In 1702, he moved his postal system's headquarters from Brussels to Frankfurt am Main where it originated.

Marriage and issue

Eugen Alexander Franz was married twice. He married first to Princess Anna Adelheid of Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg, youngest daughter and child of Hermann Egon, Count of Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg 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 (1681–1739) married Maria Ludovika Anna Franziska, Princess of Lobkowicz
• 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 (born and died in 1683)
• Countess Eleonora Ferdinanda of Thurn and Taxis (born and died in 1685)
• Count Inigo Lamoral Maria Felix Franz of Thurn and Taxis (born and died in 1686)
• 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, daughter of Ludwig Gustav, Count of Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst 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

1. geneall.net. "Eugen Alexander Franz, 1. Fürst von Thurn und Taxis". geneall.net. Retrieved 2009-12-25.
2. Dallmeier, Quellen, S. 246–250.

Sources

• Wolfgang Behringer, Thurn und Taxis, Piper, München/Zürich 1990 ISBN 3-492-03336-9
• 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 Band V, Haus Thurn und Taxis, Tafel 129 und 130

External links

Media related to Eugen Alexander Franz, Prince of Thurn and Taxis at Wikimedia Commons