Misplaced Pages

#434565

78-739: Ludwig II gave the impetus to the emperor's proclamation of William I in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles with this letter, which the Prussian King William I proposed to the imperial dignity of the newly founded German Empire , where, during the Siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War , representatives of the free cities congregated on 18 January 1871. An excerpt of the Imperial Letter: After

156-480: A constitution. The secret and disguised handling of money payments were proof that Ludwig had been aware of this. Bismarck was only able to fulfil his guaranteed money payments on the basis of the fact that larger withdrawals from the Welfs' fund would not have been noticeable, but would also have attacked his stock, which would have contradicted the conditions of seizure. At any rate, Bismarck had also been concerned about

234-681: A family descending from medieval knights who had become merchants. They now claimed, albeit without documentary evidence, that they descended from the Italian noble family Della Torre , or Torriani, who had ruled in Milan and Lombardy until 1311. She then applied to the emperor for a name change. With the Germanization, the coat of arms symbol of the Milanese family, the tower (Torre) , became Thurn (an older German spelling, nowadays Turm ) and

312-544: A few years earlier, Prussia had to pay 30 million guilders as reparations. Ludwig's admirers also pointed out that their King would have been able to change his mind on money at all. On the other hand, the Bavarian government had already declared itself ready to join the German Empire at the time of the telegram sent by Count Werthern and could not have succeeded in carrying out its repayment of reparations. Moreover, it

390-470: A new sovereign. Finally, it was both William's and Bismarck's concerns to make the act of conferring and establishing the new dignity appear as one of the German princes and not the parliaments. It was still clear that 22 years previously in 1848, William's brother and predecessor, Frederick William IV , had rejected the emperor's deputation, which he had ordered the emperor's crown for a Lesser German Empire on

468-512: A payment dispute with Philip, Francisco opened his post to public use in 1506. In 1512 the family was ennobled by Emperor Maximilian I . By 1516, Francisco had moved the family to Brussels in the Duchy of Brabant , where they became instrumental to Habsburg rule, linking the rich Habsburg Netherlands to the Spanish court. The normal route passed through France , but a secondary route across

546-630: A poet who died in mysterious circumstances in 1622. In 1608 the Brussels line was raised to the status of hereditary barons , and in 1642 the Innsbruck line as well (which descends from Gabriel de Tassis, d. 1529). When the Brussels line was raised to the hereditary status of counts in 1624, they needed illustrious lineage to legitimize their intended further ascension to the high nobility. Alexandrine von Taxis commissioned genealogists to "clarify" their origin, who until then had only been considered

624-540: A residence, henceforth known as Schloss Thurn and Taxis , sometimes also called Saint Emmeram Palace . It has remained their family seat to this day. In 1786, Karl Anselm, 4th Prince of Thurn and Taxis , acquired the Upper Swabian county of Friedberg with the lordships of Scheer , Dürmentingen and Bussen from the princes of Waldburg , which from 1787 was known as the County of Friedberg-Scheer . Only then did

702-626: A special payment of more than one million gold marks. The payments were handled secretly by Swiss banks and flowed into Ludwig's private assets. Since neither Emperor William nor Parliament could know of the agreement, Bismarck deducted the amounts of Welfs funds confiscated after the Prussian victory in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 which corresponded to the King's House of Hanover , estimated at 42 million guilders, identical of which to

780-562: A symbolically important act with regard to the founding of the Empire , whether it was a dossier to a swaying sovereign, or whether the payments were the work of bribes. Ludwig's behaviour was defended by the fact that it would correspond to political habits, to negotiate with the task of sovereignty or its restriction also over money payments, how often payments in the form of appanages or other donations to sovereigns were also agreed. Ludwig had certainly been seduced by his advisers. Finally,

858-655: A whole, was demonstrably used to settle construction calculations, for example, the Herrenchiemsee Castle, corresponded approximately to the value of the actual expenses for Neuschwanstein Castle, the most famous of King Ludwig's castles. In 2006 alone, it was visited by over one million people. Even the annual income from this castle for the free state exceeds the sum in question. German Emperor The German Emperor ( German : Deutscher Kaiser , pronounced [ˈdɔʏtʃɐ ˈkaɪzɐ] )

SECTION 10

#1732780421435

936-637: Is a family of German nobility that is part of the Briefadel . It was a key player in the postal services in Europe during the 16th century, until the end of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, and became well known as the owner of breweries and commissioner of several castles. The family has resided in Regensburg since 1748 with their seat at St. Emmeram Castle from 1803. The family is one of

1014-564: Is still controversial. This document, which is important for the founding of the German Empire, could well be regarded as the result of a state of doubtful behaviour, and thus perhaps even a form of corruption. William I took the new office of German Emperor only hesitantly, since he saw himself as the Prussian King. On the one hand, the southern German princes were not necessarily willing to accept Wilhelm's desire to call himself "Emperor of Germany ", since they did not want to recognise

1092-550: Is the ancestor of the princely Thurn and Taxis family. Johann Baptista's second-eldest son, Raymond de Tassis (1515-1579), took over the office of postmaster-general to the Crown of Spain and settled in Spain. Raymond married into Spanish nobility , and his eldest son Juan de Tassis was created Count of Villamediana in 1603 by Phillip III . The Spanish line of the family became extinct with Juan de Tassis, 2nd Count of Villamediana ,

1170-604: The Alps to Genoa was available in times of hostility. At the death of Francisco in 1517, Emperor Charles V appointed Francisco's nephew Johann Baptista von Taxis (1470-1541) as Generalpostmeister of the Kaiserliche Reichspost . Johann Baptista was briefly succeeded by his eldest son, Franz II von Taxis (1514-1543), after whose untimely death the family split into two further branches. The youngest son, Leonhard I von Taxis, succeeded as Generalpostmeister and

1248-532: The Czech Republic ). Several members of the family have been Knights of Malta . Until 1919, the titles of the head of the princely house were His Serene Highness the Fürst von Thurn und Taxis, Prince of Buchau and Prince of Krotoszyn, Duke of Wörth and Donaustauf, Princely Count of Friedberg-Scheer, Count of Valle-Sássina, Marchtal, Neresheim etc., Hereditary Postmaster General. The current head of

1326-644: The Hohenschwangau Castle , where Ludwig was staying and was received by the King when he was informed that he had to return to Versailles at 6 pm. He then told the King that he would go back to Versailles, either with or without result, but it was to be expected that the troops in front of Paris would exclaim William I as Emperor. With minor modifications, Ludwig wrote up Bismarck's draft and handed it to Holstein, who brought him to Munich for sealing. In an accompanying letter, Ludwig asked his secretary of

1404-564: The Palace of Versailles during the Siege of Paris . Wilhelm accepted this title grudgingly on 18 January, having preferred "Emperor of Germany" ( German : Kaiser von Deutschland ). However, that would have signaled a territorial sovereignty unacceptable to the South German monarchs, as well as a claim to lands outside his realm ( Austria , Switzerland , Luxembourg , etc.). "Emperor of

1482-564: The Upper Palatinate . He enjoyed Ludwig's fullest confidence, which he lost only three years before his death because of his resistance to the King wasting money. He had acted as a guardian of Ludwig's incarceration. After Ludwig died, he remained as Oberststallmeister to Prince Regent Luitpold until 1892, and then retired to his castle in Schwarzfeld, where he died in 1895. Holnstein was also economically successful and belong to

1560-706: The Wends and the Kassubes , of Crossen , Lauenburg and Mecklenburg ; Landgrave of Hesse and Thuringia ; Margrave of Upper and Lower Lusatia ; Prince of Orange ; Prince of Rügen , of East Friesland , of Paderborn and Pyrmont , of Halberstadt , Münster , Minden , Osnabrück , Hildesheim , of Verden , Cammin , Fulda , Nassau and Moers ; Princely Count of Henneberg ; Count of Mark , of Ravensberg , of Hohenstein , Tecklenburg and Lingen , of Mansfeld , Sigmaringen and Veringen; Lord of Frankfurt . His Imperial and Royal Majesty Frederick III, By

1638-625: The Bavarian King, since, according to the King of Prussia , he was regarded as the highest ranking of the princes of the small German nation. Ludwig II, who had been in office since 1864, was, however, a supporter of the Greater German solution, a German agreement including Austria, and thus also under the leadership of the Austrian Emperor, and above all under the full protection of Bavarian sovereignty. He had not wounded

SECTION 20

#1732780421435

1716-494: The Bavarian Ministers and have stated their willingness to initiate the same by stimulating Bavaria. According to their suggestions, I suppose that a letter from His Majesty the King of Bavaria to His Majesty the King in which the motion is made and is already underway". In fact, he had only recently agreed with Ludwig's representative about his demands and on 27 November 1870, he formulate the supposedly awaited letter,

1794-489: The Cabinet to review the letter and, if a different letter seemed to be more appropriate to him, "the matter is being crushed, and I authorise you to tear the letter to the King of Prussia". The Secretary of the Cabinet, on the other hand, sealed the letter on 1 December, and Holnstein returned to Versailles the following day, where he received the letter from Ludwig's uncle, Prince Luitpold of Bavaria (1886–1912) who took over

1872-473: The English and Hanoverian throne. The property was considered to be confiscated until England would recognise the annexation of Hanover by Prussia. During this time, the revenues of Prussia flowed. Bismarck regarded the Welfs' funds as being outside of parliamentary control and used his income as a slush fund . It was not until 1892 that Emperor William II ordered the proceeds of the Welfs' funds to be given to

1950-499: The German Empire in 1876 unified the currency and in Prussia converted Guilders into Goldmarks. Overall, Ludwig appeared to have received more than six million gold marks. In addition to a first large advance payment, the guarantee was to be given to him later, only after the first year's payments. The current payments began in 1873, initially 300,000 gold marks, which should have increased by the end of 1885. In 1884, Ludwig also received

2028-761: The German Nation" from 1512. Following the revolution of 1918 , the head of state was the president of the Reich ( German : Reichspräsident ), beginning with Friedrich Ebert . In the wake of the revolutions of 1848 and during the German Empire (1848–1849) , King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia was offered the title "Emperor of the Germans" ( German : Kaiser der Deutschen ) by the Frankfurt Parliament in 1849, but declined it as "not

2106-663: The German post being purchased by Prussia after the fall of the Free City of Frankfurt in 1866. By investing their earnings from the postal business - later also the settlements for the postal rights - in numerous landed estates, a large number of forests and farms as well as castles were added to the family property, especially from secularized church property, among them Buchau Abbey , Marchtal Abbey , Neresheim Abbey , Ennetach Abbey, Siessen Abbey, and others. In 1803 they were summarized as Imperial Principality of Buchau . The buildings of these monasteries were mostly re-donated to

2184-465: The Germans", as had been proposed at the Frankfurt Parliament in 1849, was ruled out by Wilhelm as he considered himself a king who ruled by divine right and chosen " By the Grace of God ", not by the people in a popular monarchy . But more in general, Wilhelm was unhappy about a crown that looked artificial (like Napoléon's), having been created by a constitution. He was afraid that it would overshadow

2262-506: The Grace of God , German Emperor and King of Prussia ; Margrave of Brandenburg , Burgrave of Nuremberg , Count of Hohenzollern ; sovereign and supreme Duke of Silesia and of the County of Glatz ; Grand Duke of the Lower Rhine and of Posen ; Duke of Saxony , of Westphalia , of Angria , of Pomerania , Lunenburg , Holstein and Schleswig , of Magdeburg , of Bremen , of Guelders , Cleves , Jülich and Berg , Duke of

2340-530: The Grace of God, German Emperor and King of Prussia, Margrave of Brandenburg, Burgrave of Nuremberg, Count of Hohenzollern, Duke of Silesia and of the County of Glatz, Grand Duke of the Lower Rhine and of Posen, Duke of Saxony, of Angria, of Westphalia, of Pomerania and of Lunenburg, Duke of Schleswig, of Holstein and of Crossen, Duke of Magdeburg, of Bremen, of Guelderland and of Jülich, Cleves and Berg, Duke of

2418-417: The Grace of God, German Emperor and King of Prussia, Margrave of Brandenburg, Burgrave of Nuremberg, Count of Hohenzollern, Duke of Silesia and of the County of Glatz, Grand Duke of the Lower Rhine and of Posen, Duke of Saxony, of Angria, of Westphalia, of Pomerania and of Lunenburg, Duke of Schleswig, of Holstein and of Crossen, Duke of Magdeburg, of Bremen, of Guelderland and of Jülich, Cleves and Berg, Duke of

Kaiserbrief - Misplaced Pages Continue

2496-585: The Imperial Diet in 1743. He therefore moved to Regensburg , where the parliament was seated, in 1748. The position became hereditary in the family who lived in different houses there, but the company headquarters remained in Frankfurt. When Saint Emmeram's Abbey in Regensburg was secularized in 1803, the monastery buildings were donated to the princes of Thurn and Taxis, who had them converted into

2574-702: The Imperial Proclamation and voyage to Versailles. The purpose of Count Holnstein's journey is to speak with Your Excellency. As early as 20 November 1870, Bismarck telegraphed to the head of the Federal Chancellery in Berlin, Delbrück : "I hope to come to a conclusion with Bavaria. If it does so, it seems unquestionable that the question of the Emperor is to be brought from there". On 23 November 1870, Bismarck had reached an agreement with

2652-565: The Parliament's to give". Friedrich Wilhelm believed that only the German princes had the right to make such an offer, in accordance with the traditions of the Holy Roman Empire . The title was carefully chosen by Otto von Bismarck , Minister President of Prussia and Chancellor of the North German Confederation , after discussion which continued until the proclamation of King Wilhelm I of Prussia as emperor at

2730-488: The Prussian crown. Since 1867, the presidency ( Bundespräsidium ) of the North German Confederation had been a hereditary office of the kings of Prussia. The new constitution of 1 January 1871, following Reichstag and Bundesrat decisions on 9/10 December, transformed the North German Confederation ( German : Norddeutscher Bund ) into the German Empire ( German : Deutsches Reich ). This empire

2808-748: The Thurn und Taxis rule their own principality of the empire for 20 years, but their main source of income remained the Imperial Reichspost. The family operated the Thurn-und-Taxis Post , successor to the Imperial Reichspost of the Holy Roman Empire, between 1806 and 1867. Their postal service was gradually lost over the centuries, with the Spanish network being bought by the crown in the 18th century and

2886-632: The Treaties, which I am hoping for, will be over come. Count Maximilian von Holnstein (born 19 October 1835) knew Ludwig from his childhood. He was pardoned in 1866 by Ludwig from a fortress, which he had served for the sake of a reverend, and appointed him as the Royal Bavarian Oberstallmeister. He came from the House of Wittelsbach and held the royal domination of Schwarzenfeld , Rauberweiherhaus, Thanstein and Pillmersried in

2964-891: The Wends and the Kashubians, of Lauenburg and of Mecklenburg, Landgrave of Hesse and in Thuringia, Margrave of Upper and Lower Lusatia, Prince of Orange, of Rugen, of East Friesland, of Paderborn and of Pyrmont, Prince of Halberstadt, of Münster, of Minden, of Osnabrück, of Hildesheim, of Verden, of Kammin, of Fulda, of Nassau and of Moers, Princely Count of Henneberg, Count of the Mark, of Ravensberg, of Hohenstein, of Tecklenburg and of Lingen, Count of Mansfeld, of Sigmaringen and of Veringen, Lord of Frankfurt. Thurn und Taxis The Princely House of Thurn and Taxis (German: Fürstenhaus Thurn und Taxis , [ˈtuːɐ̯n ʔʊnt ˈtaksɪs] )

3042-570: The Wends and the Kashubians, of Lauenburg and of Mecklenburg, Landgrave of Hesse and in Thuringia, Margrave of Upper and Lower Lusatia, Prince of Orange, of Rugen, of East Friesland, of Paderborn and of Pyrmont, Prince of Halberstadt, of Münster, of Minden, of Osnabrück, of Hildesheim, of Verden, of Kammin, of Fulda, of Nassau and of Moers, Princely Count of Henneberg, Count of the Mark, of Ravensberg, of Hohenstein, of Tecklenburg and of Lingen, Count of Mansfeld, of Sigmaringen and of Veringen, Lord of Frankfurt. His Imperial and Royal Majesty Wilhelm II, By

3120-682: The acceptance of Southern Germany to the German Constitutional Alliance, Your Majesty will extend presidential rights across the German states. I have agreed, in their conviction, that this would satisfy the interests of the German fatherland and its allied princes, but at the same time, trust that the rights conferred on the Federal Presidium by the restoration of a German Empire and of the German Emperor's dignity as rights which Your Majesty may exercise in

3198-475: The agreement with two empty bottles of champagne next to it. Oberst-Stallmeister Count Holnstein, Ludwig's confidant and personal communicator, arrived in Versailles two days later on 25 November 1870, where he was immediately received by Bismarck, without first communicating with the Bavarian negotiation delegation. Nothing is known about the course of the conversation, only the result of an agreement between

Kaiserbrief - Misplaced Pages Continue

3276-436: The alliance. I have allowed Holnstein to surrender, at his request, the draft of a declaration to my most gracious King, and with the necessary changes of the version to the other allies. Together with the Bavarian state ministers, who had represented Bavaria at the conclusion of the Bavarian acceptance treaty, Holnstein returned to Munich on the train and brought them to Bismarck's draft. On 30 November 1870, Holnstein arrived at

3354-587: The church in the 20th century, but the lands continue to be cultivated by the princely administration. Besides the St Emmeram's Palace the current prince still owns Taxis Castle (Trugenhofen) and Garatshausen Castle at Feldafing on Lake Starnberg . Rainer Maria Rilke wrote his Duino Elegies while visiting Princess Marie of Thurn and Taxis ( née Princess of Hohenlohe , wife of Prince Alexander) at her family's Duino Castle . Rilke later dedicated his only novel ( The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge ) to

3432-529: The co-founders of the Bayerische Vereinsbank . He played a central role in the settlement of the agreements with Bismarck. The details of the processing of payments made were fixed with him and he received 10% of the money, which headed back to Ludwig for his services. Bismarck acknowledged his merits for German unification. "The Count of Holnstein has made a considerable contribution to the formal conclusion of our national agreement by eliminating

3510-475: The debate on the accession of Bavaria to the nation of Germany was discussed between 19 November (Telegram sent by Werthern) and 3 December 1870 (sending of the Imperial Letter by Prince Luitpold), including the reserve rights and personal involvement of Ludwig in clarifying the imperial question. For Ludwig, these were related questions, in which he would hardly have distinguished between his person and

3588-478: The defeat of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, in which Bavaria, together with Saxony, Baden, Württemberg, Hanover, Hesse-Darmstadt, Electoral Hesse and Nassau, had stood as an ally to Austria. Bavaria had to pay Prussia 30 million guilders as compensation and subordinate its army to Prussia's command in the event of war. Under this command, with the enthusiastic consent of the population, 55,000 Bavarian soldiers, led by Prussian Prince Frederick William, were drawn into

3666-589: The distressed state (also in accordance with the Bavarian constitution of 1818), and the state had taken over the supply of Wittelsbach . After 1918, jurists of the former royal house argued that in Bavaria a separation between state property and the house wealth of the Wittelsbachs had not yet been carried out. The resulting compromise led to the founding of the Wittelsbach compensation fund, which included

3744-467: The embarrassing secrecy. From the very beginning, he had admitted to the hiding-place, even before the Bavarian government. This was also confirmed by his official announcement of 26 November 1870 on Ludwig's change of meaning – after he had secretly agreed with Holnstein – to the head of the Federal Chancellery, Delbrück . (The Bavarian ministers had already pointed out a letter from Ludwig, which had already been sent to Versailles). All parties were aware of

3822-597: The external obstacles of the German National Assembly by making two trips in a week without sleep and by the clever execution of his commission in Hohenschwangau." Bismarck recommended to Count Werthern, the Prussian ambassador in Munich, on 24 December 1870, in connection with the ratification of the Bavarian acceptance treaties by the Bavarian parliament, which appeared to be uncertain, to discuss

3900-413: The former Wittelsbach property (including the castles of Berg and Hohenschwangau, but not the castles belonging to King Ludwig II, which were retained under state ownership) and whose income since then has been sustained by members of the former Royal family. From the present point of view, no harm was caused to the state as means of Ludwig's conduct. The six million gold marks which had been sent to him as

3978-485: The head of the former head of the Royal House of Hanover. Only after Ludwig's death and Bismarck's resignation as Chancellor in 1890 were the payments announced. Bismarck declared it a loan granted to the King of Bavaria, of which he had never accepted that it was to be repaid. Since the payments and their circumstances had become known, it was disputed whether a bribery had been sent to the Imperial Letter and thus to

SECTION 50

#1732780421435

4056-604: The house of Thurn and Taxis is Albert II, 12th Prince of Thurn and Taxis , son of Johannes and his wife, Gloria . The family is one of the wealthiest in Germany. The family's brewery was sold to the Paulaner Group of Munich in 1996, but it still produces beer under the brand of Thurn und Taxis . The Thurn and Taxis family came to massive media attention during the late 1970s through mid-1980s when Prince Johannes married Countess Mariae Gloria of Schönburg-Glauchau ,

4134-434: The interests of the Bavarian state on the other hand, and the private interests of the monarch. Thus, there is a great deal of evidence for the interpretation that King Ludwig, outside the Bavarian state budget, had demanded and paid for third-party remuneration for a statutory act, that is, an official act, into his private assets, which according to modern terminology would be corruption. However, it has to be considered that

4212-404: The later imperial letter, with caution. He had refrained from his original demand that Ludwig should come to Versailles in person. He gave the draft of the emperor's letter, together with a personal letter to Ludwig, which he began with exuberant thanksgiving. "Most Gracious, Most Highly King! For the gracious opening which Count Holnstein had made to Your Majesty, I would like to congratulate you on

4290-425: The most honourable expression of my thanks." He then read the imperial letter. Concerning the German imperial question, it is important, in my opinion, that their suggestion should not proceed from any other side, such as Your Majesty, and especially from popular representation. The position would be falsified if it did not derive its origin from the free and well-to-do initiative of the mightiest of princes who joined

4368-453: The name of the entire German fatherland, on account of the unification of its princes. I have, therefore, appealed to the German princes, with the suggestion that they should bring with me to Your Majesty the suggestion that the exercise of the presidential rights of the Confederation be connected with the title of German Emperor. Even though the historical circumstance which led to this letter have now largely been clarified, their interpretation

4446-450: The order of the Frankfurt National Assembly with the "free consent of the crowned heads, the princes and the free cities of Germany", since he was not born emperor. Bismarck, therefore, could only gain William's approval if the German princes and free cities asked him to accept the imperial crown, "the old, legitimate crown of the German nation, which had been laid down since 1806", as William described it elsewhere. This could only be done by

4524-421: The parties. On 26 November 1870, Bismarck announced this, albeit in a somewhat alienated form, to his co-workers, when, in a confidential memorandum, which he had sent to the head of the Staatskanzlei Delbrück on contract negotiations with the Bavarian government representatives on 23 November 1870, notes that "Following my letter today, I still keep in confidence that I have also discussed the imperial question with

4602-459: The permanent presidency of the king of Prussia. Thus, the imperial crown was directly tied to the Prussian crown—something Wilhelm II discovered in the aftermath of World War I. He erroneously believed that he ruled the empire in personal union with Prussia. With the war's end, he conceded that he could not remain emperor, but initially thought he could at least retain his Prussian crown. However, his last chancellor, Prince Max of Baden , knew this

4680-481: The position of the King on this question "also with Count Holnstein, who is best informed of the King's intentions and views." Holnstein's influence on Ludwig must have been striking. In 1882, Prince Eulenberg-Hertefeld reported the remark that "Holnstein must know some strange thing about the King and use it as weapon – the King no longer loves him, and he obeys him." The information on the amount of payments made by Prussia to Ludwig fluctuated. This also pointed out that

4758-431: The princess, who was his patroness . Her son Prince Alexander (1881–1937) became an Italian citizen named Principe della Torre e Tasso and was raised in 1923 by the Italian king to Duke of Castel Duino . Today Duino Castle belongs to his grandson, Prince Carlo della Torre e Tasso, Duca di Castel Duino (b. 1952). The Duino branch is part of the family's Czech branch that in the early 19th century settled in Bohemia (now

SECTION 60

#1732780421435

4836-544: The rank of imperial prince at the behest of Emperor Leopold I , although at that time no territorial possessions existed in the Holy Roman Empire . Admission to the Imperial Council of Princes in the Imperial Diet took place in 1704. The Brussels line moved to Frankfurt in 1703 because of the War of the Spanish Succession ; their new family seat built from 1731 was the Palais Thurn und Taxis . Emperor Charles VII appointed Alexander Ferdinand, 3rd Prince of Thurn and Taxis , Principal Commissioner (Lord Chancellor) of

4914-399: The representative of the Bavarian Government on their acceptance to the German Empire. Bismarck made major concessions to Bavaria (its own post and telecommunication systems, its own railways and its own army during peace time). He returned from the negotiations that "Now the Bavarian agreement has been finished and signed. German unity has been made and the emperor also". His employees signed

4992-454: The role of Prince Regent after Ludwig was incapacitated. On 3 December 1870, Bismarck jubilated in a telegram to Count Werthern, the Prussian ambassador in Munich: Tell Count Bray, His Majesty the King, has received the letter from his Majesty King Ludwig with great thanks from the hands of his Royal Highness Prince Luitpold on 30 November, and thanked King Ludwig for his new patriotic attitude towards His Majesty. The difficulties on account of

5070-441: The state. Ludwig also had to be held to the effect that from his point of view, the separation of state power from royal private wealth was by no means self-evident. At the end of the monarchy of 1918, this question was still to be highly disputed among lawyers and led to the Bavarian law on the Wittelsbach Equalisation Fund. For, at the beginning of the 19th century, to which Ludwig had also descended, had transferred his property to

5148-468: The utmost. Prince Eulenberg-Hertefeld, secretary of the Prussian ambassador in Munich, described how the king had shattered state finances, and privately tried to get money from all sides, like a loan of twenty million florins from the prince of Thurn and Taxis . He had also begged the Austrian Emperor, the kings of Belgium and Sweden to ask the (Turkish) Sultan and the Shah of Persia for money. The tense financial situation, especially of his private fortune,

5226-414: The war against France in 1870. Ludwig had refused to take the lead. He was also absent from the victory celebrations at Versailles and had rejected the request of his own government and on the orders of Bismarck, to make the Prussian King a German Emperor. His government, however, had already announced its acceptance to the German Empire without his consent, while Ludwig still complained about France's loss in

5304-481: The war. From the outset, Ludwig was less interested in governmental affairs than in a particular representative depiction of his kingship in culture and architecture. This had a tradition in his family, his great-grandfather Maximilian I and grandfather Ludwig I had already used large parts of the state budget to the representative development of Munich as residence, but also to the promotion of art, education and science. Ludwig's locks burdened his private finances to

5382-427: The wealthiest in Germany, and the current head of the House is Albert, 12th Prince of Thurn and Taxis . They are one of the mediatised Houses for their former Sovereign Imperial counties , later mediatised to Kingdom of Württemberg ( Buchau Princely Abbey , now Bad Buchau ), Kingdom of Bavaria and Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen . The Tasso family (from the Italian word for " badger ", the family's heraldic animal)

5460-654: Was a Lombard family in the area of Bergamo . The earliest records place them in Almenno in the Val Brembana around 1200, before they fled to the more distant village of Cornello to escape feuding between Bergamo 's Colleoni ( Guelf ) and Suardi ( Ghibelline ) families. Around 1290, after Milan had conquered Bergamo, Omodeo Tasso organized 32 of his relatives into the Company of Couriers ( Compagnia dei Corrieri ) and linked Milan with Venice and Rome . The recipient of royal and papal patronage, his post riders were so comparatively efficient that they became known as bergamaschi throughout Italy. Ruggiero de Tassis

5538-412: Was a federal monarchy ; the emperor was head of state and president of the federated monarchs (the kings of Bavaria , Württemberg , Saxony , the grand dukes of Baden , Mecklenburg-Schwerin , Hesse , among others, as well as the principalities, duchies and of the free cities of Hamburg , Lübeck and Bremen ). Under the imperial constitution, the empire was a federation of states under

5616-417: Was clear to everyone that the private assets of the monarch were separate from the state's assets. On his accession to the throne, Ludwig II had expressed himself openly and with joy to the constitution, which refused to grant him former absolute rights to the power of the state, although he soon dreamed of a strengthening royal power. In any case, the King could no longer dispose of state revenues by virtue of

5694-433: Was known to Bismarck and his own Bavarian ministers to induce Ludwig to make a decision, the Prussian ambassador, Count Georg von Werthern , on 19 November 1870, to Bismarck in the following words: Top Secret. The King of Bavaria has been greatly pressed for money by buildings and theatres. Six million guilders would be very agreeable to him, provided the ministers did not know. For this sum, he would also make up his mind on

5772-524: Was legally impossible, and in order to keep control of the growing revolutionary movement in Berlin, unilaterally announced Wilhelm's abdication of both thrones on 9 November, two days before the Armistice. Wilhelm realized his situation was untenable when the army made clear it would not defend his throne. Accepting the fait accompli, Wilhelm went into exile in the Netherlands later that night. It

5850-735: Was named to the court of the Emperor Frederick the Peaceful in 1443. He organized a post system between Bergamo and Vienna by 1450; from Innsbruck to Italy and Styria around 1460; and Vienna with Brussels around 1480. Upon his success, Ruggiero was knighted and made a gentleman of the Chamber. Janetto von Taxis  [ de ] was appointed Chief Master of Postal Services at Innsbruck in 1489. Philip of Burgundy elevated Janetto's brother Francesco I de Tassis  [ it ] to captain of his post in 1502. Owing to

5928-475: Was not until 28 November that Wilhelm formally acknowledged he had lost both of his crowns for good and gave up all claims to "the throne of Prussia and to the German imperial throne connected therewith." The German Emperors had an extensive list of titles and claims that reflected the geographic expanse and diversity of the lands ruled by the House of Hohenzollern . His Imperial and Royal Majesty Wilhelm I, By

6006-725: Was placed in front of the actual family name Tasso , translated with Taxis (an older German spelling for Dachs = Badger). The tower of the Torriani was added to the badger as a coat of arms. They formally adopted the German form of their name in 1650, including the comital Innsbruck line, which also exists to this day. In 1681 the Brussels line was elevated to the Spanish Netherlands ' rank of prince with Eugen Alexander Franz, 1st Prince of Thurn and Taxis , with Braine-le-Château (acquired in 1670) as his titular principality (Principauté de la Tour et Tassis) , and in 1695 to

6084-443: Was the official title of the head of state and hereditary ruler of the German Empire . A specifically chosen term, it was introduced with the 1 January 1871 constitution and lasted until the abdication of Wilhelm II was announced on 9 November 1918. The Holy Roman Emperor is sometimes also called "German Emperor" when the historical context is clear, as derived from the Holy Roman Empire 's official name of "Holy Roman Empire of

#434565