Der Matrikelbogen des Kronoberstpostmeisters Karl Alexander Fürst von Thurn und Taxis

Description

The Bavarian Assembly of the Estates was conceived as a two-chamber system based on the model of the English Parliament. Accordingly, there was a chamber of the imperial councillors (First Chamber) and a chamber of deputies (Second Chamber). The former consisted of hereditary imperial councillors (the princes of the royal house, the crown officials, the archbishops of Munich-Freising and Bamberg, the heads of the princely and comital families of the former imperial estates, a Catholic bishop appointed by the king and the president of the Protestant Consistory General) as well as the imperial councillors appointed by the king (hereditary or for life). Karl Alexander, Prince of Thurn und Taxis (1770–1827) belonged to the imperial council. He was the last principal commissioner of the Permanent Diet and, from 1805 onwards, he was postmaster general of the imperial mail. After its abolition at the end of the Holy Roman Empire, Karl Alexander continued to operate the postal system as a fief until it was nationalised by the state of Bavaria. On 31 January 1819, he became one of the imperial councillors and belonged to the group of crown officials (Kronoberstpostmeister, Crown Postmaster General). The matriculation sheet, signed by Karl Alexander himself and by five members of the legitimating commission, bears the complete title of the prince. The coat of arms of the Thurn und Taxis family is illustrated in colour above the text; a printed ornamental frame in Gothic style surrounds the inscription.