Thurn and Taxis Postal Relay System

Timeline

1. 1630Regensburg General Post Office · BavariaIn the 1630s, Thurn and Taxis routes radiated from southern Germany to Austria, Bohemia, the Low Countries, and northern Italy, using fixed timetables and relay horse changes to cover hundreds of kilometers a day, serving the imperial court, the Church, and commercial cities.
2. 1631Frankfurt–Nuremberg postal route · HesseIn the 1630s, the Thirty Years' War repeatedly exposed traditional trade roads to plunder; Thurn and Taxis sustained key postal routes through imperial charters and local agreements, with messengers crossing under passports and rerouting in wartime; military mobilization and peace-negotiation documents relied on this system to circulate rapidly across Central Europe.
3. 1635Brussels relay station · BrabantRelay stations set horse-changing points by distance segments, with messengers and mailbags passing from station to station; by the 1630s a tiered tariff based on weight and distance had been established, with expedited service for diplomatic and commercial clients, forming a standardized modern postal transport operating model.