Maximilian Maria von Thurn and Taxis

Maximilian Maria, 7th Prince of Thurn and Taxis

Coat of arms of the Princely House of Thurn and Taxis

Maximilian Maria Karl Joseph Gabriel Lamoral von Thurn and Taxis (born June 24, 1862 at Taxis Castle near Dischingen ; † June 2, 1885 in Regensburg ) was the seventh Prince of Thurn and Taxis .

Life

He was the older of the two sons of Maximilian Anton von Thurn und Taxis and Helene in Bavaria . After the death of his father, the designated Hereditary Prince, in 1867, Maximilian Maria was the next beneficiary of the inheritance, skipping a generation. With the death of his grandfather Maximilian Karl von Thurn und Taxis in 1871, Maximilian Maria became the official head of the family at the age of nine, but, like his siblings, was under the tutelage of his mother until they came of age.

In preparation for his future office, Baron Carl von Geyr-Schweppenburg took over the management of Maximilian Maria's training. Maximilian Maria did not attend a public high school, but received private lessons. From autumn 1880 he studied at the universities of Bonn , Strasbourg and Göttingen , where he studied philosophy, law and economics . Since his youth he was not only interested in horse riding and hunting, but also in the promotion of art and science. He urged his archivist to write a scientifically sound history of the Thurn und Taxis company.

On the occasion of reaching the age of majority on June 24, 1883 and the official takeover of the Thurn und Taxis business, he made generous donations for the poor in the city of Regensburg and the surrounding area, as well as for the restoration of the house church St. Emmeram .

Since 1882 he had been planning an extension to the princely St. Emmeram Castle and in 1883 decided to demolish part of the former monastery and have the south wing rebuilt in the historicist neo -renaissance style under the direction of the architect Max Schultze .

Death and consequences

Maximilian Maria fell seriously ill when he returned from a visit by his uncle, the Emperor Franz Joseph, to Vienna and an associated grouse hunt. Nevertheless, he continued to follow the progress of the new palace from his apartment in the library wing.

Maximilian Maria, who had suffered from a heart defect since he was infected with scarlet fever in his youth, remained unmarried and died on June 2, 1885 at the age of almost 23 of "cardiac paralysis". He was buried in the crypt chapel of St. Emmeram Castle in Regensburg. The new construction of the palace was completed under his successor and is considered an "important monument of historicism in Germany". Empress Elisabeth wrote poetry to her nephew Maximilian Maria, who died early, called "Bubi":

While we have to pale
On the cold sarcophagus,
the wreath of
greetings rises to the light-flooded day.
And the youngest angel above
receives him smilingly
Faith, hope, firmly interwoven, he
sends back as thanks.

As a result of his early death, his brother Albert became head of the family and the eighth Prince of Thurn und Taxis.

Orders and awards (selection)

• Grand Cross of the Order of Gregory , bestowed by Pope Leo XIII. on November 23, 1881.
• Bavarian House Order of Saint Hubert on the occasion of his coming of age

ancestors

Maximilian Karl von Thurn and Taxis (1802–1871) Prince

Maximilian Anton von Thurn and Taxis (1831–1867) Hereditary Prince

Konrad Heinrich Ernst Friedrich von Dörnberg (1769–1828) Baron von Dörnberg

Wilhelmine von Dörnberg (1803–1835) Imperial Freeess of Dörnberg

Wilhelmine Sophie von Glauburg (1775–1835) baroness

Maximilian Maria von Thurn and Taxis (1862–1885) Prince

Helene in Bavaria (1834–1890) Duchess

literature

• Wolfgang Behringer : Thurn and Taxis, the history of their post office and their companies . Munich, Zurich 1990, ISBN 3-492-03336-9 .
• Martin Dallmeier, Martha Schad : The Princely House of Thurn and Taxis, 300 years of history in pictures . Verlag Friedrich Pustet, Regensburg 1996, ISBN 3-7917-1492-9 .
• Fabian Fiederer: "... hold on to all old traditions". The living environment and self-image of the high nobility using the example of the Princely House of Thurn and Taxis in the time of Prince Albert I (1888–1952). In: Thurn und Taxis Studies - New Series No. 5, Publisher: Pustet, F / Pustet, Friedrich GmbH, 2017, ISBN 978-3-7917-2795-0 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Martin Dallmeier, Martha Schad: The Princely House of Thurn and Taxis, 300 years of history in pictures . Verlag Friedrich Pustet, Regensburg 1996, ISBN 3-7917-1492-9 , p. 117 f .
2. ↑ Martin Dallmeier, Martha Schad: The Princely House of Thurn and Taxis, 300 years of history in pictures . Verlag Friedrich Pustet, Regensburg 1996, ISBN 3-7917-1492-9 , p. 123 .

predecessor	Office	successor
Maximilian Karl	Prince of Thurn and Taxis 1871–1885	Albert I.