Day 11, of Thurn and Taxis

For our culture class on June 5 Wednesday, we went to the castle here in Regensburg (which is less of a castle and more of a manor). It was originally a monastery, so the building has an odd mish-mash of architecture from different time periods when things were added-on, etc. We took a tour in German and the lady was very nice and repeated things whenever we didn’t catch something.

The Thurn and Taxis family apparently started the first “pony express” or postal system of the Holy Roman Empire. They were an Italian family whose name (pronounces a little like “tahk-suhs”) meant badger (incidentally, a dachshund (which stems from the same root word and has the same sound) is a badger-dog, or a dog who hunted badgers. The things you learn.). Thurn, meaning tower, is the name they took, inventing a relationship to an Italian noble family so that they could become part of the noble class when their wealth grew immensely due to their monopoly on the medieval postal service. They are still like celebreties in Germany today- Gloria is the current Fürstin (means princess or lady) of the Thurn and Taxis family and is well-known in Germany for her extravegent lifestyle. The Thurn and Taxis-es don’t live permanently in the Thurn and Taxis Schloss, however.

We techincally weren’t supposed to take pictures anywhere inside, but I snuck a few in. Every room is basically a display of luxury, in stark contrast to the monastery that shares the grounds. The castle has around 500 rooms, lots of marble walls and floors, and a ballroom (I think there might be more than one ballroom) that people can rent out for 20,000 Euros.

The Monastery