An allen alten Traditionen festhalten

“... remaining true to all the old traditions” – life worlds and self-perceptions among the high-ranking aristocracy based on the Princely House of Thurn und Taxis in the time of Prince Albert I. (1888–1952)

• Fiederer, Fabian
• Wilhelm Imkamp/Peter Styra (Ed.): Thurn und Taxis Studies – New Series, Volume 5
• Verlag Friedrich Pustet, Regensburg 2017
• Length: 456 p., 31 text illustrations, hard cover

Portrait of the author: Fabian Fiederer, Dr. phil., born 1984, graduate of history, political science and sociology. He works at the House of Bavarian History in Augsburg.

Prince Albert I guided the fate of the House of Thurn und Taxis for 64 years. The ‘postal princes’ were among Germany’s wealthiest families, and their lifestyle and self-perception was characteristic of the high nobility. Barely any other non-ruling court spent equivalent amounts on such an expensive entourage. Even the tumultuous events of 1914/18, 1933 and 1945 brought little change: Philanthropy, hunting, court balls and extended meets in the country – the customs remained virtually unchanged throughout Prince Albert’s reign. As the Prince said: “We will remain true to the old traditions, for as long as is in any way possible.” And this enabled the family to remain successfully at the ‘top’.