Clapper Post (german: Klapperpost) was an urban postal service in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, the capital of

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, and in some of the country's other cities, that began in 1772. Its name refers to a '' clapper'' (a type of

rattle Rattle may refer to: Instruments * Crotalus (liturgy), a liturgical percussion instrument * Rattle (percussion instrument), a type of percussion instrument * Rattle (percussion beater), a part of some percussion instruments * Ratchet (instru ...

) with which

mail carriers The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letters, and parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid-19th century, national postal sys ...

announced their arrival. In Vienna, it existed for more than ten years. File:Hieronymus Benedikt Klapperbote.jpg, Clapper mailman (

engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an i ...

; late 18th century) File:Cover Klapperpost Prague.jpg, A unique

money Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money ar ...

letter Letter, letters, or literature may refer to: Characters typeface * Letter (alphabet), a character representing one or more of the sounds used in speech; any of the symbols of an alphabet. * Letterform, the graphic form of a letter of the alphabe ...

with 50 florins in the form of banknotes from

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

to the town councillors of Ungarisch Skalitz (today's Skalica,

Slovak Republic Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...

; 1783)

References

External links

* * * * * * * {{cite web, url=http://www.constabulary.com/mystery/rattle.htm , title=The Victorian police rattle mystery , accessdate=2009-02-05 , publisher=Constabulary.com , url-status=dead, archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100218043036/http://www.constabulary.com/mystery/rattle.htm , archivedate=2010-02-18 , df= Photos of similar rattles are given that were used by English police in the 19th century Postal history 18th century in Vienna 1772 establishments in Austria