Page 1 - Chris King Denmark, Slesvig and Holstein: Invasion, Occupation, and Postal Change

Denmark, Slesvig and Holstein: Invasion, Occupation, and Postal Change
Field post offices, Civil Mail and the Postal Consequences of the Danish Austro-Prussian War of 1864

The aim of the exhibit is to illustrate the postal consequences of the war of 1864, the introduction of new
stamps in Schleswig and Holstein, and the fifteen different postal organisations in the area from the northern
tip of Jutland to the river Elbe which carried the mails between January 1864 and January 1868.

The Danish Post Office was established in 1624 throughout the Danish lands including the Duchies of Schleswig
and Holstein. By 1863, the Danish postal monopoly had been challenged only during the rebellions of 1848-
1851 . Schleswig, called Slesvig in Danish, was more Danish than Holstein, which was more German in outlook.

Following the death of King Frederik VII in November 1863 and a decision in K0benhavn to incorporate the
Duchy of Slesvig into the Danish Kingdom, Prussia, supported by the German Federation, Austria, Hanover and
Saxony went to war against the Danes. This was the first act in Bismarck's policy of German unification. It was
as critical politically as it was complex postally.

The postal result was the organisation of separate Danish, Austrian and Prussian field post offices in Denmark
as well as the Duchies. The postal routes and rates changed, and the Danish post office ended not only in
Slesvig, Holstein and Lauenburg, but also in the hanseatic cities of Hamburg and Lubeck. Schleswig and Holstein
issued new stamps, jointly, and severally, which were superseded on I •t January 1868 by the North German
Postal Area, which itself lasted only until midnight on 31 •t December 1871 .

The Duchy of The island of
Slesvig: Note /Em was
Ripen (Ribe) is included in the
included in the Duchy
Duchy
Rendsburg was a
border city
between Slesvig
and Holstein
Helgoland was
The island of
part of the
Fehmarn was
Duchy until taken
separate from,
by Britain in 1814
but included in,
Slesvig

Lauenburg was
ceded to
Holstein was the Denmark in 1814
larger in terms of
population and Bergedorf was
economic part of the Danish
strength postal area

Short Bibliography and Sources: Arbeitgemeinschaft fUr Postgeschichte und Philatelie von Schleswig-
Holstein, Hamburg und Lubeck, Handbooks 1,2,3 and 6; Atlas zur Deutschland-Philatelie, Michel 1995; Dansk
Posthistorisk Leksikon (electronic version) and Post Historisk Tidskrift, Dansk Posthistorisk Selskab 1981-1983;
Danske Frim<l!rkefrankerede Postforsendeler til og fra udlandet, Jensen K 2006; De Danske jernbane-
bureauer og deres stempler Del 2 - Jylland, Hovard 1995; Die klassischen deutschen Feldpost stempel,
WildschUtz 1995; Handbuch der Postfreimarkenkunde Abschnitt XV Schleswig Holstein, Rosenkranz 1897;
Nordisk Filatelist Tidskrift, 1956-1959; Postbes0rgelsen i Danmark under 1864-krigen, Meedom 1998;
Posthistoriske Circul<l!rer 1864, Toke Nczirby 1986.