Post route Braunschweig – Calvörde

Route of the Fahrpost Braunschweig – Calvörde

The Braunschweig – Calvörde postal route was set up in 1746 as a traveling post and initially ran once a week. It connected the places Braunschweig and Calvörde with each other and led on the route via Vorsfelde ,ehre, Bahrdorf and Velpke. This article describes the development of the postal service from the districts of Braunschweig ( Lehr and Wendhausen ) and Helmstedt ( Vorsfelde , Velpke , Bahrdorf and the exclave Calvörde ).

Calvörde

Calvörde , a Brunswick enclave in Prussia an der Ohre (today in Saxony-Anhalt), had a connection to the Lüneburger Heerstrasse as early as the 11th century . This trade route led from Leipzig via Magdeburg to Lüneburg and met in Calvörde with the trade route to Braunschweig. From 1571 the office Calvörde belonged politically to Braunschweig (until 1945).

Braunschweiger Anzeiger 1746

early postmark from Calvörde

From the “Braunschweiger advertisements” we learn of the introduction of a moving post of the “Fürstlich- Braunschweigische-Landespost ” from Braunschweig via Vorsfelde to Calvörde. The message says: “After a traveling mail from Braunschweig to Vorsfelde and Calvörde was placed on Serenissimi, and the beginning was not made on the 29th of this morning at 7 o'clock in the morning, but also every Thursday week This is to be continued at the same hour, so this is made known to the public. Braunschweig, December 26th, 1746 "

We learn more from the post table from 1772 about the moving post to Calvörde, via Campen , Vorsfelde, Bahrdorf, Oebisfelde to Calvörde. "

Since December 29, 1746 there has been a post office in Calvörde . The location on the letters was handwritten. The sources are silent about a previous post office, although there must of course have been messengers .

In the Westphalian era, the Brunswick office in Calvörde belonged to the Elbe department in the Neuhaldensleben district. The royal Westphalian postal service had been using a one-liner since 1809 , in which the date of the posting was handwritten. The first post director of the Westphalian Post was Mr. Kagel with the rank of expeditor.

Great importance was attached to compliance with the travel times. The rule was that a mile (7419.4 m - Duchy of Braunschweig) had to be covered in at least an hour, "for every quarter of an hour that you arrive later, you have to pay a fine of 12 good groschen, 4 pfennigs or two francs".

“With the beginning of the year 1832, the driving mail to Calvörde leaving Braunschweig on Thursday morning at 5 o'clock will take its route via Velpke and letters and other objects will be added to the letter collection resp. deliver and receive. " (Br. Anz.1832 Nr.2)

According to the General Circular No. XI of June 5, 1834, the "Taxe to Vorsfelde and 6 Pfg. Internal postage " applied to letters to Velpke . This confirms the existence of a postal expedition in Vorsfelde, Velpke was part of the delivery area.

Braunschweig mile pointer

The General Circular No. XXXV of August 12, 1839 published the changes that had resulted from the new postal contract between Braunschweig and Prussia of September 1. "A post office will be set up in Calvörde (postal administration) and transferred to the post office owner Lüdde, the distances to Burgstall 4½, Erxleben 3½, Gardelegen 2¾, Jübar 6½, Neuhaldensleben 2, Oebisfelde 3 and to the Helmstedt station on this side 4 miles."

At the same time, the Ducal Braunschweig Postal Expedition to Oebisfelde was canceled on September 1, 1839. Oebisfelde belonged to Prussia as a border town.

The post office in Velpke was upgraded to a postal expedition. Because of the amount of postage , which was graduated by miles, the tariff was posted for each post office. For the smaller Velpke, the tariff for Vorsfelde was decisive. I mean, the distance was calculated from and to Vorsfelde. The exception was that the second tax progression (simple letter 9 Pfg.) Was levied for letter, parcel and cash postage to and from Calvörde and Helmstedt. At the same time the tiresome land postage of 6 Pfg was no longer charged.

The postmaster Johann Heinrich Müller led the postal expedition until 1850, followed by Johann Friedrich Müller, who was mentioned in the address books until 1869. One-liners “Calvoerde” or “Calvörde.” Had also been in use with them since 1827. Not until 1850 was a rectangular stamp with the date in digits that was used until 1867. In 1861 a two-circle stamp with the date, year and time was delivered. To cancel the postage stamps in Brunswick, the rust-diamond stamp "10" was assigned.

The messenger posts between Helmstedt, Vorsfelde and Calvörde and Oebisfelde were reorganized. Locations without their own post were assigned to the delivery area of a post office, whose country mail carriers often had to travel very long distances.

With the General Circular No. LIX of January 14, 1845, the tariff was changed by adding "" the previous Braunschweig-Prussian postage rate for post offices that are more than 2 to 4 miles apart from 1½ to 1 Sgr. degraded. This affects Bahrdorf, Calvörde, Velpke and Vorsfelde against Rohrberg and Steimke ”.

Vorsfelde

Early postmark from Vorsfelde

Together with the establishment of a driving post from Braunschweig to Calvörde on December 29, 1746, the establishment of the postal expedition in Vorsfelde is mentioned, at that time a patch (1808 = 1110 inhabitants), today a district of Wolfsburg . Letters from this place on the Aller were given a handwritten note. Only a few letters recognized as genuine were known by 1815.

In the Westphalian period between 1807 and 1813, Vorsfelde belonged to the Helmstedt district in the Oker department of the Kingdom of Westphalia. Between 1810 and 1813, Post Director Kaulitz headed the post office as a forwarding agent. No markings from this period are known. According to the General Circular No. XI of June 5, 1834, the "Taxe to Vorsfelde and 6 Pfg. Internal postage" applied to letters to Velpke. This confirms the existence of a postal expedition in Vorsfelde and Velpke was part of the delivery area.

The post office in Vorsfelde was converted into a postal administration on September 1, 1839 (like Calvörde), from this time single-circle stamps with handwritten dates are known. In 1854 Vorsfelde was again a postal expedition , now the frame stamp was used. With the introduction of the postage stamps (1856) Vorsfelde received the rust-diamond cancel "45".

In 1860, Vorsfeldes was promoted to post office and a two-circle stamp came into use. The Braunschweig announcements of September 29, 1865 report on a postal expedition in Vorsfelde. In 1869 ( Northern German postal district ) it was named Post-Expedition 1st Class and thus followed the usual organizational scheme of the postal service.

On June 26th, 1843, the General Circular No. XXXXIX announced the establishment of a carriage mail connection between Vorsfelde and Salzwedel and the establishment of royal Prussian post offices in Steimke and Rohrberg . Since 1851 the mail to Grafhorst had to be directed to Velpke instead of Vorsfelde.

Teaching

Early postmark from teaching

It is possible that a mailing list existed in apprenticeship before 1844.

The Post General Circular No. LVIII of 1844 proclaims: “On October 1st, a post-collection on teaching will be set up. Located on the road between Braunschweig and Vorsfelde, it was given to the pharmacist Friedrich Werner (1844–62). On the one for travel between Brunswick and Vorsfelde and teaching on the other hand is the postage after the sentence of 1 Ggr. charged per simple letter. "

As early as October 1, 1846, the Post-Collections were transformed into a postal expedition. The internal postage was now ½ Ggr.

From 1847 onwards, a two-circle chord stamp was used, in which the date had to be entered by hand. The rust-diamond stamp "31" was used to cancel the postage stamps . The rectangular stamp with the date, star and time came on the counter in 1854. In 1867, shortly before the transition to the northern German postal district, Lehr received the two-circle stamp with the year.

As can be seen in the address book, the Reichspost converted the post office in 1880 into a post office . Postal agents were Christian Hartmann (1880-87) and Henry Evers (1888-1916).

In 1872 a postal agency was established in Flechtorf (apprenticeship 3). Friedrich Widdecke (1872–92) and Otto Widdecke (1893–1916) are named as postal agents.

If you follow the address books, there was a post office in Wendhausen (Apprenticeship 4) from 1892. Gustav Buchtmann (1892–1900) was the first postal agent. The first country mailman, Carl Rasche (1894–96), was hired in 1894.

Velpke

Early stamp from Velpke

In preparation for the mail to Calvörde, General Circular II reported on September 29, 1831 about the establishment of a letter collection at Velpke. A local resident collected the letters, exchanged the mailbag, during a brief stop, with the postilion of the stagecoach for the mail items intended for his location and usually also delivered them. For this, an " internal postage" of 6 Pfennig (½ goodgroschen) was levied in addition to the normal postage.

With the new postal contract between Braunschweig and Prussia from 1939, Velpke received a postal expedition: "The Vorsfeld tariff is to be used, but with the change that the postage for letters, parcels and money to and from Calvörde and Helmstedt, after the second tax progression (2 to 4 miles - simple letter 9 Pfg.) is charged. The previous additional or land postage of 6 Pfg. For the simple letter will no longer apply from September 1st. "

1844, there it says: “The previous Braunschweig-Prussian postage rate for post offices that are more than 2 to 4 miles apart is from 1½ to 1 Sgr. degraded. This applies to Bahrdorf, Calvörde, Velpke and Vorsfelde against Rohrberg and Steimke ”.

Bahrdorf

Postmark from Bahrdorf

Bahrdorf received his post expedition in connection with the establishment of the driving post to Calvörde. Before that, messengers who still had little postal service would have operated.

During the time of the Westphalian occupation (1810-13) there was a post office under the expeditionary Schulze, he used the one-liner postmark "Bahrdorf" and the secondary postmark "Franco". Bahrdorf belonged to the Kingdom of Westphalia, in the Oker department, in the Helmstedt district .

During the Brunswick period, Julius Wilhelm Schulze was a post transporter until 1852, followed by Wilhelm Schulze, who held the post until 1875. They continued to use the one-liner for the time being, adding the date in digits by hand from 1836 onwards.

Since the beginning of 1852 the post ran via Bahrdorf to Mackendorf and Saalsdorf , which meant a long mileage for the country mail carriers.

A rectangular stamp "Bahrdorf / date and time in digits" has been used since 1856. To cancel the postage stamps, Bahndorf received the rust-diamond stamp "2".

From 1869, in the north German postal district , Bahrdorf had a post expedition II. Class, and from 1876, Reichspost , a post office III. Class. Wilhelm Schulze was still in office. After the transformation into a postal agency (1884) Heinrich Werner took over the office.

literature

Henry Bade: 333 years of Braunschweigische Post, 1535 - 1867 . Karl Pfankuch & CO, Braunschweig, 1960. This is where the stamp images come from.
Hans-Joachim Anderson: The designation of the postmark forms . Düsseldorf 1970, postmark guild “Rhein-Donau e. V. "(The attempt of the Federation of German Philatelists to achieve uniformity in the stamp descriptions)
Werner Steven: overview of the postal relevant Braunschweigischen Ciculare, laws and ordinances from 1807 to 1867 . Circular letter No. 58, consortium Braunschweig and Hanover in the Briefmarken-Club Hanover, April 2004
Werner Steven: Directory of post offices and their staff in the area of the Duchy of Braunschweig, 1811-1916 . Society for German Postal History e. V. Braunschweig / Hanover district group. Issue 13 of the Postal History Pages, 1992.