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Germany - Overview

1849 - 1872

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Click a name to view the page.
1849
November 1
Bavaria (Bayern)
1850
June 29
Saxony (Sachsen)
November 15
Prussia (Preußen)
November 15
Schleswig-Holstein
December 1
Hanover (Hannover)
1851
May 1
Baden
October 15
Wurttemberg (Württemberg)
1852
January 1
Brunswick (Braunschweig)
January 5
Oldenburg
January 29
Thurn & Taxis
1855
April 10
Bremen
1856
July 1
Mecklenburg-Schwerin
1859
January 1
Hamburg
January 1
Lubeck (Lübeck)
1861
November 1
Bergedorf
1864
March 1
Holstein
March 10
Schleswig
October 1
Mecklenburg-Strelitz
1867
March 1
Heligoland (Helgoland)
1868
March 1
North German Confederation (Norddeutscher Postbezirk)
1872
January 1
Germany (Deutsches Reich)

The German States mentioned above were effectively formed when the Holy Roman Empire was formally dissolved on August 6, 1806.

The German Confederation was a loose association of German states formed by the Congress of Vienna in 1815. The Confederation collapsed when Prussia and Austria went to war in 1866. They all became a part of the German Empire in January 1871.

Before issuing stamps most of these states were using the services of the Thurn & Taxis postal network. Founded around 1290, the Thurn & Taxis postal service covered most of Europe, until their demise in 1867, when the last piece of the company was bought out by the Prussian postal service. It is dificult to imagine that this service began about 200 years before Christopher Columbus discovered America, and lasted for almost 400 years.

Page created 19 Feb 2014 Page updated 14 Feb 2016