A POSTAL HISTORY OF ZWOLLE

GERMANY

The postage to be paid was determined by the sum of the domestic postage of both countries to respectively from each others Border Post Office (Directive of 22 November 1815). For the Duch rates to the Border Post Office see Postal rates for domestic mail. However, the weight progression was sometimes formally slightly different for foreign destinations because it was laid down in the treaty.

Thurn-und-Taxis Post

The Thurn-und-Taxis Post was a private company operated by the princely house of Thurn-und-Taxis headquartered in Regensburg. They took care of the postal service for many German states which did not had an independent postal administration themselves.

The table below shows the rates of Thurn-und-Taxis Post from 14 August 1811 to ½ Loth in Kreuzer, distance measured as the crow flies. In later Postal Treaties the postal rates are based on this, however the weight progression start at 1 Loth. The rates have been converted by me into gute Groschen which currency was used in the northern part of Germany.

1 German Mile = 7,5325 km.

The rate progression was in 1811: Basic rate to ½ Loth: ½ - 1 Loth = 1½ x; 1 - 1½ Loth = 2 x basic rate.
But in the Postal Treaties of 1815-1817: Basic rate to 1 Loth: 1 - 1½ Loth = 1½ x; 1½ - 2 Loth = 2 x basic rate.
1 Loth = approximately 14,6 grams (from 1821 called wigtjes).

Check the list of 1815 (appendix Circular 67, 22-11-1815) for the rates in stuiver for Post Offices in the Thurn-und-Taxis postal area.

Hanover and mail to the north of Germany

After the departure of the French, Zwolle became the first Border Post Office for the exchange of mail with the Hannovese postal service, after the city was liberated by the Cossacks on 12 November 1813 (Circular 14). On 20 November 1814, Zwolle is replaced by Deventer. Almelo became the Border Post Office on 1 March 1815 and Deventer again on 1 January 1825. Almelo will then remain as a secondary Border Post Office. On 1 April 1848, the Border Post Office Deventer was closed and replaced by Arnhem, Oldenzaal and (for the Groningen mail) Winschoten.

The Postal Treaty with Hanover came into effect on 1 January 1 1818.TThe rates of the Nordhorn Border Post Office from 1 March 1815 in connection with the Dutch Border Post Office Almelo (from 1 January 1825 primarily with Deventer) and the secondary office in Oldenzaal (from 1 July 1831) to some important or relevant cities in Hanover were:

The rates from the German Border Post Office Nordhorn, from 1-3-1815 in connection with the Dutch Border Post Office Almelo (from 1-1-1825 Deventer) and the secondary office in Oldenzaal (from 1-7-1831) to some important or relevant cities in Hanover were:

Check the complete lists of 1817 (appendix Circular 105), 1818 (Circular 123), 1834 (Circular 265), 1848 (Circular 381) en 1848 for Oldenburg (the same circular).

The postal conversion rates were as follows:
1 gute Groschen = 12 Pfennig = 1½ Dutch stuiver = 7½ cents.

Letter from Zwolle to Göttingen, Hanover, 2 August 1819 with handstamp ZWOLLE. Postage to the Dutch Border Post Office, up to 15 grams: 3 stuiver = 2 gute Groschen + rate from the German Border Post Office, up to 1 Loth: 6 gute Groschen (indicated in blue) = 8 gute Groschen. Share for Hanover (according to table 7 stuiver =) 4⅔ gute Groschen.

Letter from Zwolle to Rheine, 27 October 1921 with handstampZWOLLE. Postage to Dutch Border Post Office Almelo, up to 15 wigtjes: 3 stuiver = 2 gute Groschen. Rate from German Border Post Office Nordhorn to Osnabrück, up to 1 Loth: 3 stuiver = 2 gute Groschen, in total 4 gute Groschen. Delivery charge Osnabrück - Rheine: 2¾ gute Groschen.

Letter from Zwolle to Bad Laer near Osnabrück, Hanover, 23 February 1834 with datestamp ZWOLLE 23 / FEBR / *, Ø 27 mm in red. Rate: Dutch ride to the Border Post Office Oldenzaal for towns in the region, including Zwolle (Circular 33 of 1814): 15 cents; rate from Border Post Office Nordhorn to Osnabrück (Circular 123, as of 1 September 1818): 15 cents or 2 gute Groschen; from Osnabrück to Laer: 3½ gute Groschen.

Prussia

On 24 January 1814, after the departure of the French, provisions are made for mutual mail traffic (Circular 10). Arnhem becomes a Border Post Office in connection with Düsseldorf and secondary Emmerich. On 24 July 1814, Emmerich became the only Prussian Border Post Office for Dutch correspondence to Prussia.

On incoming letters from Germany a surtaxe is charged on top of the German postage, see Circular 10 for the full table:

For letters from the Netherlands to Germany, the rate is divided into mail to Post Offices located above Frankfurt, which had to be prepaid up to Cologne, and mail to offices located below Frankfurt, which had to be prepaid up to Frankfurt:

Letter from Zwolle to Elberfeld near Wuppertal, Prussia, 6 December 1814 with handstamp ZWOLLE. Elberfeld is above Frankfurt: Rate prepaid up to Cologne, 10-15 grams: 10 cents. This should not have been noted on the letter, but on an accompanying form.

On 15 August 1817, the Postal Treaty with Prussia entered into force (Circular 100 of 30-7-1817, see the Instruction for the Post Offices). Primary Border Post Offices became Arnhem in connection with Emmerich and Nijmegen in connection with Kleve. In addition, there are secondary offices for local correspondence.

The rates from the German Border Post Office Emmerich, in connection with the Dutch Border Post Office Arnhem to some important or relevant German cities were up to 15 grams or wigtje (different from the domestic postage) or 1 Loth:

Check the complete list of 1817 in gute Groschen for destinations in Prussia.

The postal conversion rates were as follows:
1 gute Groschen = 12 Pfennig = 1½ Dutch stuiver = 7½ cents.

Prussia introduced new currencies on 1 May 1826:
1 Silbergroschen = 12 Silberpfennig = = ± 5,889 Dutch cents.
(Sachsen, Hanover and Thurn-und-Taxis kept the gute Groschen as currency).

1 German mile = 7,5325 km.

Letter from Zwolle to Orsoy, Prussia, 26 December 1826 with handstamp ZWOLLE. Postage for Zwolle - Dutch Border Post Office Nijmegen: 4 stuivers = 3½ Sgr + German Border Post Office Kleve - Orsoy: 2 Sgr = 5½ Silbergroschen.

Letter from Coevorden via Post Office Zwolle where this city's Delivery Office fell under, for forwarding to Berlin, Prussia, 27 July 1827. Handstamp ZWOLLE. Postage to the Dutch Border Post Office Arnhem: 15 cents (indicated in black on the right, later crossed out) = 2½ Sgr (5,889 Sgr = 1 cent) + German Border Post Office Emmerich to Berlin: 9 Sgr, indicated on reverse = 11½ Silbergroschen., indicated on front in red (Circular No. 206, 17-4-1826 re Prussian rates).
The route followed was: Coevorden - Zwolle - Deventer - Arnhem - Emmerich - Osnabrück - Hanover - Berlin.

German-Austrian Postal Union (Deutsch-Österreichischer Postverein, DÖPV)

On 1 July 1850 the German-Austrian Postal Union (DÖPV) came into force. The purpose of the DÖPV was to establish uniform rules for the rates and handling of postal items, as well as for transit traffic, not only for the mutual territories, but possibly for the entire German territory.

On 1 April 1851 a Postal Treaty between the Netherlands and Prussia came into effect. The postal rates are now determined by the sum of:

a) The rate for the Dutch part of the route was for a letter up to and including 15 wigtjes (grams):

Up to and including 30 km from the Border Post Office: 5 cent or 1 Silbergroschen
Above 30 km from the Border Post Office: 10 cent or 2 Silbergroschen

b) The rate for the German part of the route, within the German-Austrian Postal Union, was (distances are from or to the German Border Post Office):

1 German mile = 7,5235 km. Both the Dutch and German distance were measured as the crow flies.
1 Silbergroschen = ± 5,889 cents. When converting Silbergroschen into cents, the Netherlands rounded up to five cents, except for 1 Silbergroschen, which was rounded down to five cents.
1 Prussian Loth was postally equated with 15 grams.

Letter from Zwolle to Ankum near Lingen, Hanover, 8 October 1855. Datestamp ZWOLLE with day, month and year, Ø 25 mm in red. Rate: Dutch part to the Border Post Office Oldenzaal, over 30 km: 10 cents + Hanovers part not above 10 German miles: 1 Silbergroschen = 2 1/6 Silbergroschen.

Letter from Koblenz, Prussia to Zwolle, 8 May 1861. Prussian handstamp FRANCO: postage paid by the sender. Rate: for the route Koblenz - Border Post Office Aachen (rate for a distance between 10 and 20 Prussian miles = between 75 and 150 km): 2 Sgr + for the route Border Post Office Maastricht - Zwolle: 2 Sgr = 4 Silbergroschen, indicated on the left in red and crossed out, because already paid by the sender. Indicated "Cito" = rush.

On 1 January 1864, according to the Postal Treaty with Prussia, the distance limit of 30 km was abolished for the Dutch part of the route (this only applied to postal traffic with and via Germany, not to domestic mail), the postage share became the same for the entire country: up to 15 wigtjes 10 cents.

The German-Austrian Postal Union was now divided into two rayons:

The first rayon (the Rhine provinces, Westphalia, Birkenfeld, Waldeck and Pyrmont), per Loth: 2 Silbergroschen
The second rayon, for the rest of the Postal Union, per Loth: 3 Silbergroschen

For unfranked letters there was a surcharge of 5 cents or 1 Silbergroschen per Loth.|

An example of parcel post:

Address letter (circular) for a parcel marked H S 2 from Zwolle. On 25 June 1861 out of the mails forwarded to Koblenz, Prussia. In Koblenz it was put in the mails to Potsdam, Prussia. Framed stamp COBLENZ and label 297. AUS COBLENZ. The second part of this label had to be stuck on the parcel. Arrival handstamp POTSDAM . Postage to be paid by the addressee for a parcel of 18 Loth (indicated at the top left 18 L): 6 Silbergroschen, indicated in blue. On reverse a beautiful company cachet was applied.

Bavaria

In southern Germany and Austria the rates were in Kreuzer:
1 Silbergroschen = 3½ South German Kreuzer = 2,857 Austrian Kreuzer.
In some postal treaties, however, 1 Silbergroschen = 3 South German Kreuzer.
1 Dutch stuiver = 5 Dutch cents = 3 South German Kreuzer.

Letter from Zwolle to Markt Einersheim near Kitzingen, Bavaria, 11 July 1819 with handstamp ZWOLLE. Postage paid in advance to Frankfurt am Main (indicated lower left). |Rate Zwolle - Arnhem Border Post Office: 3 stuiver. Rate Border Post Office Emmerich - Frankfurt: 8 stuiver (Convention Netherlands - Prussia 21-6-1817). Marked 3 and 8 in red, crossed out because already paid by the sender. Postage to destination: 4 Kreuzer, paid by the addressee.
The route followed was: Zwolle - Arnhem - Emmerich - Koblenz - Frankfurt - Asschaffenburg - Würzburg - Markt Einersheim.

Last update 10.09.2024 5:54 PM

Copyright © 2019 - G.L. van Welie FRPSL
Secretary of the Nederlandse Academie voor Filatelie
Representative of the Royal Philatelic Society London for the Netherlands

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