!!!Post

Postal Service: Austria's postal service is a private enterprise; on 
May 1, 1996 the state-owned Administration of the Austrian 
Postal and Telegraph Service (Oesterreichische Post- und 
Telegraphenverwaltung (PTV)) was transformed into the  Post und 
Telekom Austria AG (PTA) and taken out of the Federal Budget by the 
Poststrukturgesetz (Law on the Administration and Organisation of the 
Austrian Postal Service).

\\
The Postal Service is responsible for the delivery of letters, 
parcels, newspapers and magazines, the operation of postal buses as 
public transportation, and for telecommunication. Postal fees are set 
by the PTA, certain fees require approval by the Minister of Finance. 
Until 1996 postal fees were "fixed prices", which were determined by 
the Nationalrat (National Council), while telecommunication fees were 
determined by a commission. There are more than 2,300 post offices in 
Austria. They also offer extensive services in the finance and banking 
area on the basis of a co-operation with the  Oesterreichische 
Postsparkasse AG.

\\
Until recently the PTV (Administration of the Austrian Postal and 
Telegraph Service) had the monopoly of the services in this sector; 
today such services are also offered by competing enterprises in 
certain fields such as letter and parcel delivery and  
telecommunications (Telecommunications Act of 1994).

\\
The development of a uniform Austrian Postal Service goes back to 
Emperor Maximilian I, who made Innsbruck a postal centre by 
commissioning the Taxis family to establish a messenger service on 
horseback between Innsbruck and Mecheln (today Belgium) in 1490. From 
1500 onwards Tirol had its own Postal Service. At the same time 
"Poststationen" (relay stages), headed by postmasters, were 
established. Under Emperor Ferdinand II the Austrian posts were 
connected to those in Styria and in 1624 they were given to the  Paar 
family as hereditary fief.

\\
Transportation was made by courier, exchanges of personal and horses 
took place at fixed places. In 1722 the postal privilege was taken 
over by the state, in 1748 Maria Theresia promulgated new fee 
schedules and added a "Fahrpost" (passenger transport 
service) in 1750. Hereditary post office and relay stage privileges 
were also introduced (documented only in Austria). In 1849 the Postal 
Service was attached to the newly founded Ministry of Trade, 
Construction and Public Works (Ministerium fuer Handel, Gewerbe und 
oeffentliche Bauten). In 1850 a general directorate of the Postal 
Service was set up and the name "Postamt" (Post Office) and 
standardised postage for letters ( Stamps) were introduced. In 1873 
the rural Postal Delivery Service ("Ruraldienst") was 
established in all Crown Lands (in Lower Austria on a trial basis in 
1868).

\\
Regular mail transport services started around 1750, scheduled arrival 
times were introduced in 1823 at the express posts (Vienna-Prague), 
which had been established the year before. Registered letters have 
been delivered since 1799 and in 1817 official letterboxes were 
introduced. In 1833 "Brief-Eilposten" (express letter 
services) were established and in 1850 the postal service by train, 
with special mail carriages, was introduced. In 1907 the first postal 
bus line started operating. The military  Postal Service was improved 
at a very early date and the  Air Mail service was established in 
1918.

\\
After 1945 particular importance attached to the renewal and 
development of  radio and  television broadcasting stations by the 
Postal Service (radio broadcasting had been established in Austria by 
1924).

\\
Austria is connected to Intel-Sat, Eutel-Sat and Inmar-Sat via the 
Aflenz earth station (4 antennas) and is thus fully integrated into 
the system of world-wide radio transmission.

\\
telephone services ( Telecommunications) were deregulated in 1996, 
from 1895 -1996 they were subordinate to the state Administration of 
the Austrian Postal and Telegraph Service.

!Literature
Post- und fernmeldewissenschaftliche Reihe, 1957ff.; 200 
Jahre Post, exhibition catalogue, Halbturn 1985; Die Post auf dem Weg 
ins Informationszeitalter, 1989; Aus Oesterreichs Postgeschichte, 
1990; C. Kainz, Geschichte der oesterreichischen Post, 1995.


%%language
[Back to the Austrian Version|AEIOU/Post|class='wikipage austrian']
%%

[{FreezeArticle author='AEIOU' template='Lexikon_1995_englisch'}]
[{ALLOW view All}][{ALLOW comment All}][{ALLOW edit FreezeAdmin}]