Austro-German Postal Union
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Austro-German Postal Union (''Deutsch-Österreichischer Postverein'', literally "German–Austrian Postal Association") was a union of the postal systems of the
Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...
and the pre-
Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
German states. The union was established on July 1, 1850. The administrative prerequisites were already provided by the German
Zollverein The (), or German Customs Union, was a coalition of German states formed to manage tariffs and economic policies within their territories. Organized by the 1833 treaties, it formally started on 1 January 1834. However, its foundations had b ...
established in 1834. On October 18, 1847, the representatives convened to the German Postal Conference in
Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...
on a suggestion of
Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
and
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 ...
. Not until 6 April 1850, Prussia and Austria, slowed by political circumstances, closed a contract establishing a German–Austrian Postal Association in
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
.


History


Prerequisites

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
had printed its first stamps in 1849. Since 1835 there was the first railroad, in 1849 already 6,000 km of rails were laid. The progress took its course. The economic revival of nearly all economic branches called for a well-organised post, which could not be achieved with small states. There was a need for a compact economic region. The German Zollverein established in 1834 had already provided the administrative prerequisites. Until 1840, 23 countries with more than 80% of the population had confederated under Prussia's leadership by cancelling the customs and trade barriers. Austria wanted to sap the Zollverein by the use of protective duties. Last but not least by the entry of
Hannover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German States of Germany, state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germa ...
the Zollverein had become a co-supporter of the
Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
. A uniform economic region called for a uniform postal system; so the foundation of the German–Austrian Postal Association played an important role. The diversity of the existing postal systems spanned all parts of the postal laws, the
postal monopoly Postal may refer to: Places * The Italian name for Burgstall, South Tyrol in northern Italy * Postal, Missouri * Postal Square * Postal Museum (Liechtenstein), a postal museum in Vaduz, Liechtenstein People * Fred Postal, former co-owner o ...
, the postal restraint, the guarantee relations, the special privileges of the postal systems, and the sanctions. Of course it spanned the tariffs for all kinds of consignments, the liberty of postage, the transit relations, the postal delivery, and the treatment of the consignments too. The tabular overview of the existing laws concerning the postal monopoly and the postal restraints in the different German states, which was worked on for the conference, consisted of 7 narrow printed
folio The term "folio" (), has three interconnected but distinct meanings in the world of books and printing: first, it is a term for a common method of arranging sheets of paper into book form, folding the sheet only once, and a term for a book ma ...
pages. Concerning the tariffs there were differences in the tariff formulation, in the single rates, as well as in the tariff grades. In some states the letter tariff consisted of two grades, in other states of thirty grades regarding the distance and the weight. In addition there was the diversity of the mile measures, the coins, and the weights. *The simple letter weight for example was ½ Vienna
lot Lot or LOT or The Lot or ''similar'' may refer to: Common meanings Areas * Land lot, an area of land * Parking lot, for automobiles *Backlot, in movie production Sets of items *Lot number, in batch production *Lot, a set of goods for sale togethe ...
in Austria, ¾ Prussian lot in Prussia, ½
Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
n lot in Bavaria, 12½ g in
Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
, ¾ Cologne lot in Hannover, ½ - 1 Cologne lot in
Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Würt ...
, ¾ Cologne lot in
Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden is ...
, 10 g in
Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
, 1 Cologne lot in
Mecklenburg-Schwerin The Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was a duchy in northern Germany created in 1701, when Frederick William and Adolphus Frederick II divided the Duchy of Mecklenburg between Schwerin and Strelitz. Ruled by the successors of the Nikloting Hous ...
, ¾ Cologne lot in
Mecklenburg-Strelitz The Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was a duchy in northern Germany consisting of the eastern fifth of the historic Mecklenburg region, roughly corresponding with the present-day Mecklenburg-Strelitz district (the former Lordship of Stargard), ...
, 1 Cologne lot in
Oldenburg Oldenburg may also refer to: Places *Mount Oldenburg, Ellsworth Land, Antarctica *Oldenburg (city), an independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany **Oldenburg (district), a district historically in Oldenburg Free State and now in Lower Saxony *Olde ...
, ¾ - 1 Cologne lot in
Holstein Holstein (; nds, label=Northern Low Saxon, Holsteen; da, Holsten; Latin and historical en, Holsatia, italic=yes) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of German ...
and
Lauenburg Lauenburg (), or Lauenburg an der Elbe ( en, Lauenberg on the Elbe), is a town in the state of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the northern bank of the river Elbe, east of Hamburg. It is the southernmost town of Schleswig-Holstein ...
, etc. For a postal consignment that had to pass several regions, all of these differences had to be considered for the calculation of the final postage. Austria suggested a weight of 8.75 g, Prussia 12 g, Bavaria 15.6 g, and Saxony 15 g. They agreed upon 1 lot ''Vereinsgewicht'' (association's weight) = 15.6 g excl. In the contract of Postal Association it was virtually kept, but defined as 1/30 of the ''
Zollpfund The ''Zollpfund'' ("customs pound") is an historical German weight based on the old pound. In 1854, the German Customs Union, the ''Zollverein'', fixed the pound weight or at exactly 500 grammes, making it about seven percent heavier than the old ...
'' (customs pound) for each increment of the letter weight.


Postal conference

Due to these traffic-obstructing conditions the thought of establishing a uniform German postal system arose early. On October 18, 1847, after several vain efforts the representatives of the German postal administrations convened to the German Postal Conference in Dresden on a suggestion of Prussia and Austria, in order to discuss the postal conditions in the German states and to work on the terms of the foundation of a German Postal Association. The negotiations, whose 37 sessions were attended by all representatives of all German postal administrations, lasted until February 3, 1848. The most urgent task was considered to be the simplification of the letter postage. Bavaria suggested a tariff of 6
Kreuzer The Kreuzer (), in English usually kreutzer ( ), was a coin and unit of currency in the southern German states prior to the introduction of the German gold mark in 1871/73, and in Austria and Switzerland. After 1760 it was made of copper. In s ...
for each letter, Austria wanted a three-stage tariff, Prussia wanted even a five-stage one. The Bavarian suggestion appealed most, but it was believed that it could not cover the costs for the postal service, nor by the cheap use of the railroad. The introduction of a special postal currency as a Postal Association's Coin was considered, but not accomplished. Its unit should have been one ''Posttaler'' (postal
thaler A thaler (; also taler, from german: Taler) is one of the large silver coins minted in the states and territories of the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg monarchy during the Early Modern period. A ''thaler'' size silver coin has a diameter of ...
), equivalent to the 12th part of a Cologne mark fine silverOne Cologne mark fine silver (233.855 g) was equivalent to 20  Gulden resp. 13⅓ 
Thaler A thaler (; also taler, from german: Taler) is one of the large silver coins minted in the states and territories of the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg monarchy during the Early Modern period. A ''thaler'' size silver coin has a diameter of ...
in 1753, and 24½ Gulden resp. 16⅓ Taler in 1837.
and divided into 100 Kreuzer. After the political conditions initially had constrained the further accomplishment of this thought, Prussia and Austria resumed negotiations and closed a contract establishing a German–Austrian Postal Association on April 6, 1850, in Berlin.


Association

Initially the association was to come to life on May 1, 1850, but the date had to be put off to July 1, 1850. Besides the two founding states the Royal Bavarian Government, the Royal Saxon Government, the Grand Ducal Government of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, the Grand Ducal Government of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, and the Chief Postal Administration of Schleswig-Holstein had already joined. The contract aimed at "''die Feststellung gleichmäßiger Bestimmungen für die Taxierung und postalische Behandlung der Brief- und Fahrpost-Sendungen, sowie für die Regulierung der Transit-Verhältnisse nicht nur für die beiderseitigen Landesgebiete, sondern womöglich für das gesamte Deutsche Bundesgebiet''" (the declaration of uniform regulations of the rating and postal treatment of letter and driven consignments, as well as of the regulation of the transit-relations not only for the mutual countries, but if possible for the whole German federal territory). *In 1851 following authorities joined the association: **on May 1 the Princely
Thurn und Taxis The Princely House of Thurn and Taxis (german: link=no, Fürstenhaus Thurn und Taxis ) is a family of German nobility that is part of the ''Briefadel''. It was a key player in the postal services in Europe during the 16th century, until the end ...
Postal Administration and the Grand Ducal Government of Baden, **on June 1 the Royal Government of Hannover, **on September 1 the Royal Government of Württemberg, **on October 1 the
Electorate Electorate may refer to: * The people who are eligible to vote in an election, especially their number e.g. the term ''size of (the) electorate'' * The dominion of a Prince-elector in the Holy Roman Empire until 1806 * An electoral district An ...
of
Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major histor ...
, the
Duchy of Nassau The Duchy of Nassau (German: ''Herzogtum Nassau'') was an independent state between 1806 and 1866, located in what is now the German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse. It was a member of the Confederation of the Rhine and later of the G ...
, and **on December 1 the
Free Hanseatic City of Bremen Bremen (), officially the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (german: Freie Hansestadt Bremen; nds, Free Hansestadt Bremen), is the smallest and least populous of Germany's 16 states. It is informally called ("State of Bremen"), although the term ...
. *On January 1, 1852, the Grand Ducal Government of
Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
, the Duchy of
Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the Nor ...
, the Free Hanseatic City of
Lübeck Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the stat ...
, and the Grand Ducal Government of
Oldenburg Oldenburg may also refer to: Places *Mount Oldenburg, Ellsworth Land, Antarctica *Oldenburg (city), an independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany **Oldenburg (district), a district historically in Oldenburg Free State and now in Lower Saxony *Olde ...
further joined the postal association. The postal association only was an unseparated postal region for correspondence. For
letters 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 ...
,
printed matter Printed matter is a term, mostly used by mailing systems, normally used to describe mechanically printed materials for which reduced fees are paid which are lower than first-class mail. Each postal administration has it own rules for what may be p ...
s (''Kreuzbandsendungen''),
test samples Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...
and examples, as well as postally delivered
newspapers A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports ...
collective postage fees were levied in the association's (mutual) traffic. Concerning letters, test samples and examples its amount complied with the weight of the consignment and the distance from the place of posting to the place of destination, measured in a straight line. Each postal administration had to receive the fees of the letters, that were sent from their post offices, in mutual traffic. In fact the contract provided the freedom for passing, but not that it should be free of charge. The acquisition of the remuneration of the passing letter-post, which was entitled to the individual postal administrations, was especially regulated by the contract. For the freedom to collect postage, regulations were provided. In article 7 of the contract the expression "''Wechselverkehr der Postvereinsstaaten''" (mutual traffic of the postal association's states) appeared for the first time.
Heinrich von Stephan Ernst Heinrich Wilhelm von Stephan (born Heinrich Stephan, January 7, 1831 – April 8, 1897) was a general post director for the German Empire who reorganized the German postal service. He was integral in the founding of the Universal Postal Un ...
wrote: The letter tariff applied to the whole association's region. An exception was provided: "For the letter delivery between two places, for which currently a lower postage exists, this postage can further be applied after agreement of the involved postal administrations." Regarding the Kreuzer-tax the '' Conventionsmünze'' or Reich currency depending on the state's currency was levied. This regulation endured after the introduction of a new coin currency too, on October 2, 1858, Austria introduced the '' Neukreuzer''. *The correspondences of all members of the regent's families of the association's states were delivered free of postage in the whole association's region. Further correspondences concerning mere civil services and the official correspondences of the postal administrations and post offices were delivered free of postage too. *No new postage was charged for the returning or forwarding delivery of a letter. *Besides the taxes from the table new taxes might not be levied; they are allowed only for the order fee. The remuneration of cash disbursements for extraordinary services (e.g. ordering by an express messenger) is not excluded. *The correspondence with foreign countries is subject of the same treatment as the association's correspondence. The additional postage for unstamped letters are not applied. For parcels the value declaration was only necessary for consignment of valuables. The refund for a lost simple parcel was set at 10 ''
Silbergroschen The ''Silbergroschen'' was a coin used in Prussia and several other German Confederation states in northern Germany during the 19th century, worth one thirtieth of a Thaler.Friedrich von Schrötter: ''Wörterbuch der Münzkunde.'' 2nd edn. 1970, p ...
'' or 30 Kreuzer per pound. The postage was 2 
Pfennig The 'pfennig' (; . 'pfennigs' or ; symbol pf or ₰) or penny is a former German coin or note, which was the official currency from the 9th century until the introduction of the euro in 2002. While a valuable coin during the Middle Ages, i ...
per pound, the minimum was the letter postage. For the mutual handover of the driving post the postage was calculated concerning the distances between the postal borders and between the places of posting and destination. For the rating of the driving post consignments border points were arranged, to and from which the calculation and acquisition of the postage mutually was performed. So, a minimum of two distances were added. For the calculation of the postage of transit consignments of several transit routes, the number of miles had to be reduced to average distances. For each driving post consignment the postage was calculated concerning the weight, the postage of value was only charged, if the consignment was declared by the means of value. For each rating-route the minimum of weight-postage was considered to be the letter postage. All consignments, for which a higher postage was calculated due to the application of the weight-tariff, it should be charged: for each pound per every 5 miles ½ Kreuzer or 2 ''Silberpfennig'' or the respective value in the country's currency. But for heavy letters the respective postage has to be charged according to the letter or driving post tariff. It is optional mailing the consignments unstamped or completely stamping them for the place of destination. The postage acquisition is especially calculated regarding the above-mentioned tariff regulations for the delivery route of each individual administration. Returning and forwarding consignments are subject of the taxes for the delivery route for the way forth and back. For consignments of valuables it should be charged: up to a distance of 50 miles for every 100 Gulden 2 Kr. and for every 100 Taler 1 Sgr., more than 50 miles for every 100 Gulden 4 Kr. and for every 100 Taler 2 Sgr., with the annotation that for lower values the tax for the full hundred should be charged. The addressee can declare the value of the consignment himself. A refund is provided according to the declared value. For other parcels a maximum of 10 Sgr. resp. 30 Kr. per pound were refunded. "The current agreement comes to live on July 1, 1850. It stays effective until the end of 1860 and from then on with a reservation of a year's notice."


Revised contract

The first conference took place in 1851 in Berlin; there on December 5, 1851, the revised Postal Association's contract was signed by Austria, Prussia, Bavaria, Sachsen, Hannover, Württemberg, Baden, Holstein, Luxemburg, Braunschweig, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Oldenburg, Lübeck, Hamburg, and the Thurn und Taxis postal administration. The "''Deutsche Posterein''" (German Postal Union), as it was called since then, did not include the driving post. Notable regulations of that contract are: *Guarantee of the freedom of passing for letter consignments with moderate passing reimbursements; *introduction of a uniform letter postage graded according to three distances; *postage reduction for
printed matter Printed matter is a term, mostly used by mailing systems, normally used to describe mechanically printed materials for which reduced fees are paid which are lower than first-class mail. Each postal administration has it own rules for what may be p ...
s and commercial samples; *postage charging by
definitive stamp A definitive stamp is a postage stamp that is part of the regular issue of a country's stamps, available for sale by the post office for an extended period of time and designed to serve the everyday postal needs of the country. The term is used in ...
s; *mediation of newspaper orders; *perpetuation of the political borders concerning the driving post, actually parcels, in that way, that a special postage was still charged for each postal region.


First addendum to the revised contract

In 1855 one further conference took place in Vienna. On this conference the association's rules were agreed upon. Things, whose transport is dangerous, were excluded. The addendum regulates the transit fees, the delivery of the letter post, and tells, what has to be done with unstamped or insufficiently stamped letters. It also regulates the guarantees for
registered mail Registered mail is a mail service offered by postal services in many countries which allows the sender proof of mailing via a mailing receipt and, upon request, electronic verification that an article was delivered or that a delivery attempt was ...
, parcels, consignments with stated value, and many more.


Notes

{{Authority control Postal history Communications in Austria 1850 establishments in the Austrian Empire Postal organizations Austria–Germany relations Postal history of Germany 1850 establishments in Germany