Czechoslovakia

Time Traveler | Cool Facts! | Technology | Post Explorer

Time Traveler
  The history of the Czech post was to begin when Archduke Ferdinand of the Habsburg Dynasty was elected the King of Czechoslovakia. The Habsburg had an enormous task on hand: they needed an efficient system of "wiring" the vast kingdom together, and the introduction of a postal service was one such measure.

Initially, the job of organizing the postal system was entrusted to another royal family, the Thurn-Taxis. If you find their name familiar, it is because they were responsible for postal organization in the German empire as well. One of their utmost important duties included efficient delivery of mail between Vienna and Prague, the two most important seats of government. The later invention of roads further boosted the growth of the postal service.

Come the 19th century, the Czech postal service rapidly developed into a modernized system with the aid of Maximilan of Ottenfeld. It was also aided by vast technological progress.

Cool Facts!
  Scouts played an important role in the development of the Czech postal service. Their capabilities as postmen were proven by their stamina, speed and bravery in delivering messages to each other even in dangerous conditions. They helped support the country in many aspects. The Czech Sea Scouts, for instance, provided mail service for a short period of time in 1918 just after the first World War. It was necessary as the government was still in the midst of restructuring and a temporary postal service provider was needed.

In the mountainous region of the Czech region, the introduction of the railway was a tremendous help in accessing the most remote areas in the Czech nation. A unique "horse railway" was in use between 1825 to 1832.

Technology
  One aspect of modernization of the Czech postal system was the installation of a queue system. To manage the crowds using the main office, a Q-matic system was used in which people had to obtain a queue number first before entering the post office to wait for his or her number to be called.

Post Explorer
  Today sending mail from the Czech Republic is relatively cheap by international standards. An overseas-bound letter can be sent for about 11 Czech Crowns (US$0.32) and intra-European mail can be sent for 7-9 Czech Crowns (US$0.26).

When queuing up to post a letter in a Czech post-office, there are different windows for handling different types of mail. You need to know which window handles your class of mail if you don't want to risk queuing up again.