Thurn und Taxis family

Uncommon card · No. 148853

The Princely House of Thurn und Taxis, also Anglicised as Thurn and Taxis (German: Fürstenhaus von Thurn und Taxis, [ˈtuːɐ̯n ʔʊnt ˈtaksɪs], Italian: della Torre e Tasso, French: de la Tour et Tassis) is a German noble family that originated in Lombardy (Italy). It was a key player in the postal services in Europe; its operations began around 1290 in the Bergamo region, and from the 16th to the 19th century, it maintained significant, Europe-wide networks with headquarters in Brussels and Frankfurt. From the 14th century onwards, it operated a relay courier service between numerous European capitals; from this, a private postal enterprise evolved starting in 1490, followed by the Kaiserliche Reichspost (Imperial Post) which was operated by the family from around 1600 to 1806, followed by the Thurn-und-Taxis Post between 1806 and 1867. By investing the proceeds from its postal business − and later the compensations received for its postal rights – into numerous landed estates in Southern...

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