Postage stamps and postal history of Mecklenburg
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By the Hamburg Agreement on 8 March 1701,
Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; nds, label= Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schweri ...
was separated into two duchies with limited autonomy, which formed a collective state–as of 1815, the Grand Duchies of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and
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), ...
. Since 1755, they had the same constitution and were under the control of the same parliament. In 1815, both parts became Grand Duchies by the
Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...
.


Post

It was reported in 1644 that there was a first regular post between
Schwerin Schwerin (; Mecklenburgian Low German: ''Swerin''; Latin: ''Suerina'', ''Suerinum'') is the capital and second-largest city of the northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern as well as of the region of Mecklenburg, after Rostock. It ...
and
Rostock Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state, ...
. In 1680, Mecklenburg's state posts were founded by the dukes
Gustav Adolph, Duke of Mecklenburg-Güstrow Gustav Adolph, Duke of Mecklenburg Güstrow(26 February 1633 – 6 October 1695) was the last ruler of Mecklenburg-Güstrow from 1636 until his death and last Lutheran Administrator of the Prince-Bishopric of Ratzeburg from 1636 to 1648.Jonatha ...
(1633-1695) and Christian von Mecklenburg Schwerin (1658-1692). After some disputes, a postal association treaty between
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 ...
and Mecklenburg-Strelitz was signed on 22 June 1717.
Hannover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
, called as a mediator, tried to seize the postal authority out of the dispute. Hannover closed the Prussian posts in Boitzenburg and Escheburg and constituted its own posts. The result was a dispute with Prussia. When the foreign troops had left the country, Prussia established a post via
Grabow Grabow () is a town in the Ludwigslust-Parchim district, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It is situated on the river Elde, 7 km (4.35 mi) southeast of Ludwigslust, and 34 km (21.12 mi) northwest of Wittenberge. It ...
to
Parchim Parchim (; Mecklenburgisch: ''Parchen'') is a town in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is the capital of the Ludwigslust-Parchim district. It was the birthplace of Helmuth von Moltke the Elder, to whom a monument was erected in 1876. Foun ...
, with a connection to Mecklenburg's post in
Plau Urokinase, also known as urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA), is a serine protease present in humans and other animals. The human urokinase protein was discovered, but not named, by McFarlane and Pilling in 1947. Urokinase was originally i ...
. There was a connection to the line
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
-
Güstrow Güstrow (; la, Gustrovium) is a town in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is capital of the Rostock district; Rostock itself is a district-free city and regiopolis. It has a population of 28,999 (2020) and is the seventh largest town in M ...
there, which had been established in 1713 via Ferbellin,
Ruppin Neuruppin (; North Brandenburgisch: ''Reppin'') is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, the administrative seat of Ostprignitz-Ruppin district. It is the birthplace of the novelist Theodor Fontane (1819–1898) and therefore also referred to as ''Fonta ...
, and
Wittstock Wittstock/Dosse is a town in the Ostprignitz-Ruppin district, in north-western Brandenburg, Germany. Geography It is located in the eastern Prignitz region on the Dosse River near the confluence with its Glinze tributary, about east of Pritzwal ...
. In 1755, the postal constraint was introduced by an edict of Duke Christian Ludwig II (1683-1759). A new regulation was issued in 1759. It regulated the extra post and the courier system. A postage table for letters and records was issued in 1764. A postal regulation of 1770 prohibited the delivery of
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 ...
and parcels of less than 25  pounds. Until 1849, the postal system of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was administered by a chamber council. After 1 November 1849 a chief postal directorate, subordinate to the minister of finance, managed the post. On 1 July 1850 both duchies joined the German-Austrian Postal Union.


Mecklenburg-Schwerin

On 1 July 1855 stamps were introduced by Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Despite the different sizes of the stamps, they all had the same picture. Only the value of ¼ ''
Schilling Schilling may refer to: * Schilling (unit), an historical unit of measurement * Schilling (coin), the historical European coin * Austrian schilling, the former currency of Austria * A. Schilling & Company, an historical West Coast spice firm acquir ...
'' depicts the crowned head of a bull. All of the other stamps depict the country's great coat of arms with a crown, the inscription "''FREIMARKE''" ( definitive stamp) above and "''SCHILLINGE''" below. On the vertical edges of the stamp, "MECKLENB" is inscribed on the left side and "SCHWERIN" on the right. The value of the stamps is indicated in the corners of the stamp. The
postal stationery A piece of postal stationery is a stationery item, such as a stamped envelope, letter sheet, postal card, lettercard, aerogram or wrapper, with an imprinted stamp or inscription indicating that a specific rate of postage or related serv ...
is provided with nearly round imprints of the values.


Mecklenburg-Strelitz

In Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the postal system was still under the control of the chamber and forest council until the changeover to the administration of the
North German Confederation The North German Confederation (german: Norddeutscher Bund) was initially a German military alliance established in August 1866 under the leadership of the Kingdom of Prussia, which was transformed in the subsequent year into a confederated st ...
. Mecklenburg-Strelitz did not introduce stamps until 1864. The rectangular stamps were only intended for correspondence within the state. The value is inscribed above, the indication of the currency (''
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 ''Schilling'') is at the bottom. On the vertical edges, "''MECKLENB''" is inscribed on the left side and "''STRELITZ''" on the right. For correspondence with other countries, the stamps were octagonal and in the colours of the postal union. Within the octagon, the inscription "''MECKLENB.STRELITZ''" is at the top, the value in numerals is in the centre, and the value in words, with the currency indication "''SILB.GR.''", is below. The value imprints of the postal stationeries corresponded to those of the stamps.


Further reading

* Adams, Clifford H. ''A Study of the World's First Divisible Postage Stamp, The Number One of Mecklenburg-Schwerin 1856''. Quito: Editorial Barra, 1958 15p. * Albert, Georg. ''Die Postbriefstempel von Mecklenburg-Schwerin seit ihrer Einfuhrung im Jahre 1810''. Frankfurt am Main: Arbeitsgemeinschaft Neues Handbuch der Briefmarkenkunde e.V., 1966 68p. * Albert, Georg, Hans v. Rudolphi and Oscar Schulz. ''Die Briefmarken von Mecklenburg-Schwerin''. Frankfurt am Main: Arbeitsgemeinschaft Neues Handbuch der Briefmarkenkunde e.V. im Bund Deutscher Philatelisten e.V., 1964 19p. * B. E. Crole: ''Geschichte der Deutschen Post''. 2nd edition. Verlag W. Malende in Leipzig, Leipzig 1889. The author is Bruno Emil König from Berlin. * Ehmke, Heinz. ''Postgeschichte Mecklenburg-Strelitz''. Neustrelitz: H. Ehmke, 1964 54p. * ''Fritz Billig's grosses Handbuch der Fälschungen: Vol. 12: Mecklenburg-Schwerin und Strelitz''. Wien: Billig, 1935 20p. * Krüger, Karl. ''Die Plattenfehler der Freimarken von Mecklenburg-Schwerin 1856-1867''. Second Edition. Lubeck: s.n., 1995 44p. * K. Schwarz (Postrat): ''Zeittafel zur deutschen Postgeschichte''. R.V.Deckers Verlag, Berlin 1935, Vol. 22 ''Post- und Telegraphie in Wissenschaft und Praxis''.


External links


Mecklenburg-Vorpommern "Zeitgeschichte, philatelistisch gesehen"
(''in German'') {{PostalhistoryEurope History of Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; nds, label= Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schweri ...
Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; nds, label= Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schweri ...