Franz von Taxis


Franz von Taxis, contemporary painting	Postage stamp 1967 on the occasion of the 450th anniversary of death

Francesco de Tasso receives the postmaster's order from Emperor Friedrich III.

Franz von Taxis ( Italian: Francesco de Tasso , French: François de Tassis ), genealogically also called Franz I von Taxis (* around 1459 in Camerata Cornello , Italy ; † between November 30th and December 20th, 1517 in Brussels , Belgium ) is considered to be the founder of the European postal system .

Franz von Taxis came from the Lombard family of Tasso (" badgers ") from Camerata Cornello . In 1490 he entered the service of the German King and later Emperor Maximilian with his brother Janetto and his nephew Johann Baptista . Maximilian commissioned them to set up mail and courier lines. Franz later went to the Burgundian Netherlands , where he entered the service of Maximilian's son, Archduke Philip the Fair , Duke of Burgundy. In 1512 he was raised to the simple nobility. Franz von Taxis was married to Dorothea Luytvoldi, but died without leaving any legitimate descendants.

Entry into the service of Maximilian I.

Mention of Janetto, Franz and Johann Baptista in the Innsbruck Rait books 1490

After the German king and later emperor Maximilian I took over Tyrol from his uncle Siegmund in 1490 , he made Innsbruck his main residence. Since Maximilian's son Philipp was raised in the Burgundian Netherlands and his daughter Margarete at the French royal court, he needed a functioning supraregional communication system. For this reason, he first hired Janetto von Taxis, who came from an Italian courier family. In the same year he caught up with his brother Francesco (Franz von Taxis) and his nephew Johann Baptista. In 1490 they organized the first real post for Maximilian I in the form of a relay, with riders and horses changing, whereby only the fur iron was passed on. In addition, they set up courier routes with horse changing stations to Rome and the French royal court. By 1496 at the latest, Franz von Taxis was also working for Philip the Fair in the Burgundian Netherlands .

The postal contracts

Appointment as chief postmaster

On March 1st, 1501 Franz von Taxis was appointed chief postmaster ( capitaine et maistre de nos postes ) in the Burgundian Netherlands by Philip the Fair in place of Olivier de Famar .

Postal Treaty of January 18, 1505

After the death of Queen Isabella of Castile on November 26th, 1504, Philip also received the Castilian royal dignity as a substitute for his insane wife Juana , daughter of Ferdinand of Aragón and Isabella. Thereupon Philipp signed a new contract with Franz von Taxis on January 18, 1505 in Brussels, based on the postal contract of 1501. Afterwards, Franz von Taxis received an annual lump sum to set up and operate the following postal routes with a stationed mail rider ( postes ) with a horse: From Brussels, Mechelen or the respective stay of the governor of the Burgundian Netherlands to the place of residence of King Maximilian I in the empire , and on an interim basis to French royal court, if there was an ambassador, as well as to Spain to the court of Ferdinand of Aragon. In this postal contract, delivery times for summer and winter were specified for the first time:

Brussels-Innsbruck 5.5 days (winter 6.5 days)

Brussels- Paris 44 hours (winter 54 hours)

Brussels- Blois 2.5 days (winter 3 days)

Brussels- Lyon 4 days (winter 5 days)

Brussels- Granada 15 days (winter 18 days)

Brussels- Toledo 12 days (winter 14 days)

Hourly passes were used to control the transport times . In times of war, Franz von Taxis was supposed to relocate the routes as quickly as possible and organize war relays , initially to Geldern . For compliance with this contract, Franz von Taxis should be liable with body, life and belongings. The construction of postal routes within the Burgundian Netherlands, which was probably the subject of the contract of 1501, is not explicitly listed in the contract.

The fact that Franz von Taxis complied with these requirements at least on the Dutch postal route is proven by a post office slip from March 1506 issued in Mechelen, where Franz von Taxis organized a post relay to Innsbruck.

The further development

With the death of Philip the Fair on September 25, 1506 in Burgos , the situation changed fundamentally. Maximilian appointed his daughter Margarethe as governor of the Netherlands and educator of their underage nephew Karl . She repeatedly refused to pay the expensive relay. Franz von Taxis, for example, complained several times that for lack of money he could not station post riders and organize new relay races. Because of the payment, there were also quarrels between Maximilian's Innsbruck chancellery and Margaret's court. That only changed when Charles V, as Duke of Burgundy, was prematurely declared of age on January 5, 1515 and deposed Margaret.

Postal treaty of 1516

With the death of King Ferdinand of Aragon on January 23, 1516, Charles inherited all of Spain as well as Naples and Sicily . Since King Charles intended to travel to Spain, he concluded a new postal contract with Franz and Johann Baptista von Taxis, who was also Franz's adjutant ( aide et adioint ) and later successor, on November 12, 1516.

In this contract, King Karl named both Franz and Johann Baptista as his chief postmasters ( capitaines et maistres des postes ) and the only postmasters and couriers. Franz and Johann Baptista undertook to station mail riders to the French royal court and to Maximilian's court. Two horses should be kept at every change station with the exception of remote routes.

There were fixed time limits again, which had been reduced in contrast to the 1505 postal contract:

Brussels-Innsbruck 5 days (winter 6 days)

Brussels-Paris 36 hours (winter 40 hours)

Brussels-Blois 2.5 days (winter 3 days)

Brussels-Lyon 3.5 days (winter 4 days)

Instead of the postal routes Brussels-Granada and Brussels-Toledo, new routes were agreed.

Brussels- Burgos 7 days (winter 8 days)

Brussels- Rome on the German postal route 10.5 days (winter 12 days)

Brussels- Naples 14 days in winter

The following passages of the contract were decisive: The relay was only allowed to be set in motion for royal letters and embassies, which in plain language meant a ban on private mail delivery. Without the permission of the two main postmasters, no one was allowed to do the postal service or keep postal horses. Franz and Johann Baptista were entitled to punish their subordinates, giving them a lot of room for maneuver.

This treaty came into force on November 15, 1516. From this date onwards, Franz and Johann Baptista were to set up new postal rates from the Netherlands within twelve days and, vice versa, within twenty days. The post riders on the disused routes should be canceled and paid out. Franz and Johann Baptista again received an annual flat rate.

Later contracts

Because of the foreseeable death of Franz, King Karl awarded Johann Baptista the right to the post and courier office in Valladolid on November 30, 1517 . Franz von Taxis actually died between November 30 and December 20, 1517, and on December 20, 1517, Karl concluded a new contract with his successor Johann Baptista (1470–1541) and the Maffeo von Taxis, who operated in Spain .

The postal contracts of 1505, 1516 of 1517 were the cornerstone for the rise of the Taxis family and the later monopoly of the Thurn and Taxis in the historical postal system.

literature

Carl Brandi: Kaiser Karl V. 2 volumes, new edition Frankfurt 1986
Wolfgang Behringer: Thurn and Taxis. Munich 1990, ISBN 3-492-03336-9
Wolfgang Behringer: In the sign of Mercury. Göttingen 2003, ISBN 3-525-35187-9
Martin Dallmeier: Sources on the history of the European postal system. Kallmünz 1977
Ludwig Kalmus: World History of the Post. Vienna 1937
Ernst Kießkalt: The creation of the post. Bamberg 1930
Eduard Leitner: In: Archive for German Postal History. 2/80, pp. 32-53
Memminger Chronik, transcription by Uli Braun: In: Archive for German Postal History. 2/90, p. 7
Fritz Ohmann: The beginnings of the postal system and the taxis. Leipzig 1909
Horst Rabe: Germany 1500–1600. Munich 1989
Joseph Rübsam: Johann Baptista von Taxis. Freiburg 1889
Joseph Rübsam: various individual items
Hermann Wiesflecker: Maximilian I. Munich and Vienna 1991

Web links

Commons : Franz von Taxis - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ Martin Dallmeier: In: De Post van Thurn and Taxis, La Poste des Tour et Tassis. Brussels 1992, p. 45
↑ ^a ^b Exact wording of the contract of 1505 with Rübsam: Johann Baptista von Taxis. S. 188–197, see also Dallmeier: Sources for the history of the European postal system. Part II: Register of documents. Pp. 3-4.
^ Ohmann: The beginnings of the postal system and the taxis. Pp. 326-329.
^ Wording in Rübsam: Johann Baptista von Taxis. , Pp. 215–227, see also Dallmeier, sources part 2, p. 4f.

personal data
SURNAME	Taxis, Franz von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Taxis, Franz I. von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Italian postmaster
DATE OF BIRTH	around 1459
PLACE OF BIRTH	Camerata Cornello , Italy
DATE OF DEATH	between November 30, 1517 and December 20, 1517
Place of death	Brussels , Belgium

[1] Martin Dallmeier: In: De Post van Thurn and Taxis, La Poste des Tour et Tassis. Brussels 1992, p. 45

[Vertrag1505-2] Exact wording of the contract of 1505 with Rübsam: Johann Baptista von Taxis. S. 188–197, see also Dallmeier: Sources for the history of the European postal system. Part II: Register of documents. Pp. 3-4.

[3] Ohmann: The beginnings of the postal system and the taxis. Pp. 326-329.

[4] Wording in Rübsam: Johann Baptista von Taxis. , Pp. 215–227, see also Dallmeier, sources part 2, p. 4f.