Post route Braunschweig – Helmstedt – Magdeburg
The Braunschweig-Helmstedt-Magdeburg postal route was a postal route introduced back in the 17th century that initially ran twice a week. It connected the places Braunschweig and Magdeburg with each other and led on the route via Helmstedt, Schöningen, Jerxheim, Schöppenstedt, Groß Winnigstedt and Hesse. This article describes the development of the postal system in each location.
Driving mail
In 1665, a Brunswick mail is said to have traveled to Magdeburg via Königslutter . The Thurn und Taxische Post listed this route in their post tables in 1763. A post table from 1772 names the Helmstedter-Magdeburg mobile mail, it drove twice a week in the same way via Königslutter and Helmstädt as well as on the riding post on the Berliner Cours via Wolfenbüttel to Hornburg and Halberstadt, thus connecting Braunschweig with the eastern part of the Rich.
From January 1, 1754, a moving post ran once a week between Helmstedt, Schöningen, Schöppenstedt and Wolfenbüttel. It started in the morning in Schöningen, arrived in Schöppenstedt at noon and was in Wolfenbüttel in the evening. The next morning she drove back to Schöningen, in order to drive there and back to Helmstedt the next day. In Helmstedt and Wolfenbüttel there were princely post houses, in Schöningen the relative Herr Himmel and in Schöppenstedt the merchant Günther was responsible for the post.
railroad
On April 10, 1841, Prussia, Hanover and Braunschweig signed an agreement to build a rail link from Magdeburg to Braunschweig, Hanover and Minden. The Brunswick government took over the connection from Oschersleben to Wolfenbüttel.
The first state railway line in Germany opened on December 1, 1838, the construction section from Braunschweig to Wolfenbüttel. From there, on July 16, 1843, a cross-connection to the Magdeburg-Halberstädter Railway in the Prussian Oschersleben via Schöppenstedt and Jerxheim was opened. The 53.143 km from Braunschweig to Oschersleben took 2½ hours, and 1¾ hours back, as it was an uphill stretch to Schöppenstedt.
From this line, a branch line was built from Jerxheim via Schöningen to Helmstedt , which began traffic on July 20, 1858.
Königslutter
Königslutter will have had a post office as early as the 17th century .
Between 1808 and 1813, Königslutter belonged to the Oker department in the Kingdom of Westphalia . The one-liner "KOENIGSLUTTER" dates from this time . It can be assumed that the secondary postmarks “FRANCO” and “CARGÉ” were also delivered.
Again under ducal Brunswick leadership, the advocate Carl-August Dieckmann (1838–50) took over and “through the death of the postmaster” , postal secretary Bussius (1850–54) became postmaster of a postal administration . In 1855 the post office in Königslutter was converted into a postal expedition and in 1876 into a second class post office. There was a post office. The address books list wagon masters and post office keepers from 1855 to 1897.
The one-liner stamp was usually given a handwritten date from 1837 onwards. It was replaced by a single-circle stamp with a date line, on which the date had to be entered by hand. In 1852 Königslutter received a frame stamp with the printing number, which was replaced in 1864 by a two-circle stamp with the date, year and hour. The stamp is also available without an indication of the hour. The rust-diamond stamp with the number "28" was used to cancel the postage stamps .
Helmstedt
Postal historians assume that there has been a post office in Helmstedt since 1665 . Letters with handwritten postal address are rare.
In the time of the Kingdom of Westphalia (1807-1813) the city belonged to the department of the Oker , the post office received the required local and secondary stamps . The one-liner stamp "HELMSTAEDT" and the one-liner "FRANCO", if the postage has already been paid, the one-liner "CHARGÉ" for registered (recommanded) letters and the very rare two-liner "DÉBOURSÉS / HELMSTEDT".
Right at the beginning of the Westphalian era, the French attacked the city in order to be able to provide for themselves. Besides a wagon with brandy and some hay, they do not capture anything. "After the officer had had all the letters and parcels removed from the post, he gathered his 32 dragoons and marched off." After this time, the postal system in Helmstedt, in 1821, was subordinate to Major von Rauschenplatt and his secretary. One traveling mail each went to Braunschweig twice a week, twice to Magdeburg, once to Schöningen. However, no riding mail was sent. Messenger mail went once to Schöningen, once to Vorsfelde, Oebisfelde, Bahrdorf and Calvörde and once to Oebisfelde and Bahrdorf. "The tenant of Domaine Marienberg now takes care of the horses, both for the ordination and for the extra items , according to an agreement made about it."
The post office remained when the Brunswick Post took over management again. Another one-liner was put into operation around 1829.
In the years 1830 to 1848 there was also a line stamp with a bow and a line. A similar arch stamp is known from the years 1848 to 1853. A rectangular stamp with date, star and time of day followed in 1853 and was replaced in 1860 by different two-circle stamps with date, year and time. The rust-diamond stamp with the number "21" was used to cancel the postage stamps
Of course there was a post office in Helmstedt . In the address books, postal stops are mentioned from 1833 to 1916 (end of records).
In 1836 the General Circular reported: “There is no post-course between the Prussian Post-Expedition in Weferlingen (since January 1, 1836) and Helmstedt, 1½ miles away. Shipments are to be routed via Magdeburg. In order to avoid an increase in price, a special regulation has been made. "
In 1839 a messenger post between Helmstedt, Vorsfelde and Calvörde was also reported to Oebisfelde.
In 1852 we learn that the Süpplingenburg was supplied by country postmen from the Helmstedt post office.
On July 20, 1858 the railway from Jerxheim via Schöningen to Helmstedt was opened. Instructions for the postal service on the Schöninger Bahn can be found in the attachment. Since July 1, 1859, the post has been operating as the “Herzogliches Bahn- und Postamt Helmstedt” by law.
A post office had existed in Barmke since 1896 . The postal agents were Friedrich Niemann (1896–1907); F. Wieshoff (1908-09) and Otto Oppermann (1910-16) were employed.
Schöningen
In Schöningen there was a good postal connection to the castle very early on . In 1753, the post is said to have been dispatched in the town hall.
At the time of the Kingdom of Westphalia , the post directors changed from Christian Schultze (1807-1810) to Pabst (1812) and Sachtleben (1812-13). Schöningen was in the department of Oker in the canton of Helmstedt . Very little is known about the use of stamps. The secondary stamps FRANCO, "CHARGE" and "RECOMMANDIRT" were proven.
August Wilhelm Sachtleben is mentioned in the address books from 1833 to 1835. In 1835 there was a postal expedition , which was converted into a postal administration in 1838. Different one-liners were used until 1853 . They have been replaced by the rectangular stamp with number date, star and hours with blue stamp color.
Schöningen has had a postal expedition again since 1855, and after the construction of the railway on October 1, 1859, it was renamed the Ducal Railway and Post Office. Since the 1860s the two-circle stamp "Schoeningen" or from 1865 "Schöningen" with date, year and hour. The old rectangular stamp was still used as the arrival stamp. "DELIVERED" and a frame stamp "Out of the mailbox" were seen as secondary stamps. The rust-diamond stamp with the number "37" was used to cancel the postage stamps .
In the northern German postal district there was a postal expedition in 1868, a postal administration in 1872, a second class post office in 1876, and then a first class post office in 1893.
There was a post office for changing horses between 1835 and 1899. During this time wagon master and post office keeper are named in the address books.
Since 1906 there was a post office in Alversdorf (dissolved by lignite mining). Heinrich Pinkernelle (1906) and Franz Schulze (1907–16) were used as postal agents.
Jerxheim
On October 1, 1843, a “post expedition at the local railway station” was set up in Jerxheim .
Instead of the official two-circle chord stamp , where the date should be added by hand, one often finds the train stamp (train number, date and below that hours and minutes). From 1851 you can find a two-line text with the date and year and between 1852 and 1857 a three-line text with the same information. In 1854 the rectangular stamp with the date, star and time was put on the counter. Jerxheim received the rust diamond stamp "25".
On November 28, 1844, the General Circular announced the establishment of a post station in Jerxheim "at the Jerxheim railway station a post station for extra items was assigned to the restorer August Siedentopf (1848-58) there". The wagon masters mentioned are: Mrs. Langelüddecke (1855–56), H. Hauenschild (1857–69), as well as the wagon master's assistants Christian Gottfried Eggers (1865–69) and Carl Koch (1870). The data for a post office is missing for the time after that.
From the same source: "The administration is transferred from the collector Bremer (1843-46), who was appointed railway workshop accountant, from March 1, 1846 to the railway money collector Schmelzkopf (1846-47) there." "Post clerk Harmes (1847-51) appointed postal secretary in Helmstedt and at the same time transferred to him from October 1, 1847 to the board of directors of the post office in Jerxheim and the railway station there". He was succeeded by the postal agent Gronau (1851–55). From 1851 onwards, shipments to Gevensleben were no longer directed to Schöppenstedt, but to Jerxheim.
On January 10, 1855, the name changes under the leadership of the Herzogl. Railway and post office administrations at the station in Jerxheim in the railway and post office. Now the auditing assistant Albert Fuhr were station administrator (1855–58) followed by the financial auditor Carl Lüddecke (1859–60) and the trainee Diedrich Meyer (1860–62).
The Braunschweig announcements of May 10, 1862 report that “the administration of the Herzogl. The railway and post office in Jerxheim has been assigned to the railway and postal assistant Kraus (1862-69). And 1865: “From September 1, 1865 on, the mailboxes can also be used on the Royal Prussian railroad mail wagons passing through the Duke of Brunswick at the Jerxheim stations here for mailing undeclared letters, regardless of the destination. The condition is that these letters, which are to be transported in this way, must be franked or franked with stamps or envelopes. "
From 1869, at the time of the Northern German Post District , there was a post expedition in Jerxheim; Kraus' successor was Post Assistant Döring (1870–71).
The Reichspost turned the Post-Expedition in 1872 into a postal administration. Now the post intern Carl Gattermann, as interim post administrator (1872), the post assistant Eduard Stomann, again only interim (1873), Wilhelm Probst, also interim (1874), followed by Carl Süpke (1875–1886), Conrad Kenne (1887– 1889), the postal assistants Carl Buttler, commisarisch (1890–91) and Adolf Huthmann (1892–1906) to be replaced by Hermann Ballüer (1907–1916).
In 1887 a small post office was opened in Jerxheim. Mail agents were Heinrich Eppert (1887–91) and Reinhard Müller (1892–1916).
Schöppenstedt
The size of the place and its location suggest a post office very early on. As early as 1753, the merchant Günter is said to have dispatched the post in the town of Schöppenstedt (Schrader). A letter with a handwritten location is known from 1808.
Schöppenstedt was from 1807 to 1814 in the Kingdom of Westphalia and there in the Oker department , in the Helmstedt district . Mr. Dehn acts as the mail carrier. Like all the others, it received the four mandatory stamps from the Westphalian Post . Letters from this period are very rare.
In 1835 the Schöppenstedt postal expedition was downgraded to a postal administration. In 1845 a post office was added for extra items. This station will have been replaced by the railroad in 1843.
The Prussian postal expedition in Rocklum and the messenger post from Schöningen were canceled in 1848. From June 1, 1848 onwards, the broadcasts to Rocklum were to be directed via the Brunswick Hesse. After the post office in Hessen was closed a year later, at the beginning of 1849, the items had to be sent back to Schöppenstedt. In 1851 a postal circular ordered that shipments to Gevensleben were no longer to be directed to Schöppenstedt, but to Jerxheim.
In the collection of laws and ordinances of January 22, 1855, it is announced that the administrations at the stations in Wolfenbüttel, Schöppenstedt and Jerxheim are given the designation: Bahn- und Postamt get Den Braunschweigischen advertisements, No. 204, of August 29, 1865 to read: "From September 1st, the mailboxes can also be sent to the Royal Prussian railroad mail car passing through the Duke of Brunswick at the local stations Jerxheim, Schöppenstedt, Wolfenbüttel, Braunschweig and Vechelde, for mailing undeclared letters, regardless of the destination, to be used. The condition is that these letters, which are to be transported in this way, have to be unstamped or franked by stamps or envelopes. signed Schottelius. "
Great Winnigstedt
On September 1, 1848, the first post office, a postal expedition , was opened in Winnigstedt . In 1903 Winnigstedt received a postal agency.
The illustrations (pictures on the right) show the two-circle chord stamp (above), on which the date had to be entered by hand. The picture below shows the two-circle stamp used since 1863 with date, year and hour. The Braunschweiger Rostrautenstempel with the number "17" was used to cancel the postage stamps .
Hessen am Fallstein
A post office for Hessen can be assumed as early as the 17th century. Hesse is located directly on the Braunschweig - Salzdahlum (castle) - Hesse - Halberstadt road. W. Schrader states 1732.
A one-liner, based on the Westphalian model, was purchased in 1809 after 1839 with a handwritten date, it is also available with the printing number. From August 1840, the two-circle chord stamp with two stars, on which the date until 1854 was entered by hand , can also be found on the letters . A rectangular stamp with date, star and time has been in use since 1854. The rust-diamond stamp with the number "22" was used to cancel the postage stamps .
The 1833 address book names a post office for Hessen. In 1842 the General Circular of the Post reported that the postcours were set up and the post office (for horses) in Hesse was abolished from September 1, 1842 , which received a post expedition from July 1, 1843.
In 1848 the post expedition to Rocklum and the messenger post between Rocklum and Schöppenstedt are closed. "From June 1, 1848, shipments are to be directed to Hesse." A year later, the shipments are to be directed to Rocklum on Schöppenstedt because the post office in Hesse was temporarily suspended on October 1, 1848, which is confirmed again in 1849 meant the post office. On February 1, 1850, a post office in Hesse was re-established. Between 1884 and 1891 there was a postal agency in Hesse.
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)
- “Handbook about the Kingdom of Westphalia”, Halle, bey Hemmerde and Schwedtschke, 1808
- “Court and State Handbook of the Kingdom of Westphalia”, Hanover, from the Hahn brothers, 1811
- 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.
See also
- Duchy of Brunswick
- Postal history and postage stamps of Braunschweig
- Braunschweiger Poststempel An overview of the forms of the Ducal Braunschweig-Lüneburg postmarks
- Brunswick coin history
- Brunswick finance laws
- Postal history of the Kingdom of Westphalia
- Napoleonic Post in Northern Germany
- Brunswick post offices
- Airmail Braunschweig
- Postal organization
- Post route Braunschweig – Calvörde (Bahrdorf, Calvörde, apprenticeship, Velpke, Vorsfelde)
- Post route Braunschweig – Blankenburg (Blankenburg, Braunlage, Hasselfelde, Hohegeiß, Rübeland, Tanne, Walkenried, Zorge)
- Postal route Wolfenbüttel – Harzburg (Börßum, Harzburg, Immendorf, Lesse, Oker, Salder, Wolfenbüttel)
- Post route Braunschweig – Hildesheim (Bettmar, Vechelde, Thedinghausen)
- Postal route Braunschweig – Göttingen (Badenhausen, Barum and Klein-Rhüden, Bodenburg, Delligsen, Gandersheim, Gittelde, Greene and Kreisensen, Langelsheim, Lutter am Barenberg, Mühlenbeck, Naenesen, Seesen)
- Post route Braunschweig – Holzminden (Amelunxborn, Bevern, Bisperode, Eschershausen, Fürstenberg, Halle on the Weser, Holzminden, Hehlen, Mainzholzen, Ottenstein, Stadtoldendorf, Vorwohle, Wickensen).