Anselm Franz, 2nd Prince of Thurn and Taxis

Anselm Franz
Prince of Thurn and Taxis
Prince of Thurn and Taxis
Period	21 February 1714 – 8 November 1739
Predecessor	Eugen Alexander Franz
Successor	Alexander Ferdinand
Born	30 January 1681 (date of baptism) Brussels, Spanish Netherlands (place of baptism)
Died	8 November 1739 (aged 58) Brussels, Austrian Netherlands
Spouse	Maria Ludovika Anna Franziska, Princess of Lobkowicz
Issue	Alexander Ferdinand, 3rd Prince of Thurn and Taxis Princess Maria Philippine Eleonore Maria Augusta, Duchess of Württemberg Prince Christian Adam Egon
Full name German: Anselm Franz
House	Thurn and Taxis
Father	Eugen Alexander Franz, 1st Prince of Thurn and Taxis
Mother	Princess Anna Adelheid of Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg
Religion	Roman Catholic

Anselm Franz, Prince of Thurn and Taxis,^[1] full German name: Anselm Franz Fürst von Thurn und Taxis^[1] (30 January 1681, Brussels, Spanish Netherlands^[1] – 8 November 1739, Brussels, Austrian Netherlands^[1]) 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 death on 8 November 1739.^[1]

Early life

Anselm Franz was the eldest child and son of Eugen Alexander Franz, 1st Prince of Thurn and Taxis and his wife Princess Anna Adelheid of Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg.^[1] The date of his birth is unknown, but Anselm Franz was baptised on 30 January 1681 at the Our Blessed Lady of Zavel Church in Brussels.

Postmaster General

Under his father, at the beginning of the War of the Spanish Succession 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 Palais Thurn und Taxis in 1729. In 1725, he was able to lease the postal system of the Austrian Netherlands as a Habsburg fief. 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 Maria Ludovika Anna Franziska, Princess 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.^[1] Franz Anselm and Maria Ludovika had four children:^[1]

• Alexander Ferdinand, 3rd Prince of Thurn and Taxis (1704–1773)^[1]
• Princess Philippine Eleonore Maria of Thurn and Taxis (1705–1706)
• Princess Maria Augusta of Thurn and Taxis (1706–1756)^[1]
• Prince Christian Adam Egon of Thurn and Taxis (1710–1745)

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Styles of Anselm Franz, Prince of Thurn and Taxis
Reference style	His Serene Highness
Spoken style	Your Serene Highness
Alternative style	Sir

Titles and styles

• 1681–1695: His Serene Highness The Hereditary Count of Thurn and Taxis
• 1695 – 21 February 1714: His Serene Highness The Hereditary Prince of Thurn and Taxis
• 21 February 1714 – 8 November 1739: His Serene Highness The Prince of Thurn and Taxis

Honours

• Knight of the Austrian Order of the Golden Fleece

Ancestry

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

16. Lamoral, Count of Taxis               8. Leonard, Count of Taxis                       17. Genoveva von Taxis               4. Lamoral II Claudius Franz, Count of Thurn and Taxis                             18. Philibert de Rye, Count of Varax               9. Alexandra de Rye, Countess of Varax                       19. Claudine de Tournon               2. Eugen Alexander Franz, 1st Prince of Thurn and Taxis                                   20. Lamoral de Hornes, Count of Houtekerke               10. Philippe-Lamoral de Hornes, Count of Houtekerke                       21. Juliana de Merode, Baroness of Merode               5. Anne-Françoise de Hornes                             22. Charles, Prince of Arenberg               11. Dorothée de Ligne-Arenberg                       23. Anne de Croÿ, Princess of Chimay               1. Anselm Franz, 2nd Prince of Thurn and Taxis                                         24. Frederick IV of Fürstenberg               12. Egon VIII of Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg                       25. Countess Elisabeth of Sulz               6. Hermann Egon, Prince of Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg                             26. John George, Prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen               13. Princess Anna Maria of Hohenzollern-Hechingen                       27. Countess Franziska of Salm-Neuviller               3. Princess Anna Adelheid of Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg                                   28. Christopher II, Count of Fürstenberg               14. Frederick Rudolf of Fürstenberg                       29. Dorothea Holiczky of Sternberg               7. Countess Maria Franziska of Fürstenberg                             30. Johann Reinhard I, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg               15. Countess Anna Magdalena of Hanau-Lichtenberg                       31. Countess Marie Elisabeth of Hohenlohe-Neuenstein

References

1. Darryl Lundy (7 Jan 2009). "Anselm Franz Prinz von Thurn und Taxis". thePeerage.com. Retrieved 2009-12-16. External link in |publisher= (help)

Sources

• Wolfgang Behringer (1990) (in German), Thurn und Taxis, Die Geschichte ihrer Post und ihrer Unternehmen, München, Zürich: Piper, ISBN 3-492-03336-9 
• Martin Dallmeier; Martha Schad (1996) (in German), Das Fürstliche Haus Thurn und Taxis, 300 Jahre Geschichte in Bildern, Regensburg: Verlag Friedrich Pustet, ISBN 3-7917-1492-9 
• Europäische Stammtafeln Band V