The humble birth certificate of the Danish postal service is Christian IV's "Ordinance concerning Postmen", was signed on Christmas Day 1624.
The crown is still part of the symbol of the postal service indicating that the service was once a royal prerogative, the King's monopoly. It appears on early branding irons for marking of mail coaches, on signs, emblems, and many other objects.
Here I am at the strange original Danish invention: the spherical mail coach. Cinderella could have used this!
This replica was built according to the original 1815 drawings and incorporating what little remained of the original pumpkin-like vehicle. Letter post was transported all over Denmark in spherical mail coaches, protected from weather damage - and without the driver being tempted to earn an extra penny or two by taking passengers. There was quite simply no room for them!
The requirement for a rapid, regular post service always on time and along fixed routes soon encouraged the Post Office to improve roads and monitor delivery times. This exhibition includes old street maps, timepieces, and "timetables".
The Postmen uniforms included the cutlass and pistol. Travelling the length and breadth of the realm in service of the king was not without its dangers.
"Loyal and Vigilant" is still the motto of the Danish postal service.
The crown is still part of the symbol of the postal service indicating that the service was once a royal prerogative, the King's monopoly. It appears on early branding irons for marking of mail coaches, on signs, emblems, and many other objects.
Here I am at the strange original Danish invention: the spherical mail coach. Cinderella could have used this!
This replica was built according to the original 1815 drawings and incorporating what little remained of the original pumpkin-like vehicle. Letter post was transported all over Denmark in spherical mail coaches, protected from weather damage - and without the driver being tempted to earn an extra penny or two by taking passengers. There was quite simply no room for them!
The requirement for a rapid, regular post service always on time and along fixed routes soon encouraged the Post Office to improve roads and monitor delivery times. This exhibition includes old street maps, timepieces, and "timetables".
The Postmen uniforms included the cutlass and pistol. Travelling the length and breadth of the realm in service of the king was not without its dangers.
"Loyal and Vigilant" is still the motto of the Danish postal service.
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| Rural Postmen walk through snow and mud to every home in Denmark. Stilts (see on the photograph) were often the only way to make the deliveries possible. |
