Swiss Post (French: La Poste suisse, Italian: La Posta Svizzera, German: Die Schweizerische Post, Romansh: La Posta Svizra) is the national postal service of Switzerland. A public company owned by the Swiss Confederation, it is the country's second largest employer[2] with about 54,000 employees.[1] The group is based in Bern[3][4] and has branches in 25 countries.[1] Roberto Cirillo is its CEO since April 2019.[5] In 2021, Swiss Post was ranked as the world's best by the Universal Postal Union for the fifth time in a row.[6] In December 2022, it was announced Swiss Post has acquired the St. Gallen-based sustainable packaging company, Kickbag GmbH.[7]
Before the establishment of a united postal service in Switzerland in 1848,[8] postal services were often carried out by a variety of independent messengers and postal services[9] such as the Thurn und Taxis in Schaffhausen and the Fischerpost in Bern.[10]
In the Helvetic Republic (1798–1803)
After the French military complained to the government of the recently established Helvetic Republic about the different uniforms of the postal services, the decision to form a united postal service was approved by the Swiss Senate in September 1798.[9] In 1799, Switzerland was divided into five postal zones centered in Basel, Zürich, St. Gallen, Schaffhausen and Bern[10] but the Swiss Government was not able to nationalize the already functioning and well-established independent postal services.[11] By 1803 the administration of the Swiss postal services was returned to the cantons.[12]
Under cantonal administration (1803–1848)
Between 1803 and 1848 the postal services were administrated by the cantons.[13]
The canton of Zürich was a major provider of postal services at the time, as it also operated the postal services in the cantons Thurgau and Zug[14] and its carriages were allowed to transit through the important Uri[14] with its Gotthard Pass. From 1823 onwards, the postal services from Canton Zürich operated a carriage between Zürich via Rapperswil to Chur[15] and from 1826 the carriage was in service on a daily basis.[15] in 1829 a daily service between Basel and Zürich was established.[15] In 1835 the service was expanded to Bern and three years later the line reached Fribourg, Lausanne and Geneva.[15] In 1835 the first steamboat was operated on Lake Zürich and in 1847 the first railway of Switzerland went into service between Zürich and Baden.[15] In 1843, the cantonal post of Zürich issued the first stamp in Switzerland[16] so the postman was relieved of the duty of collecting the money from the clients.[17]
In Canton Bern the Fischerpost was the official provider of postal services, and it also operated the line over the Gotthard Pass to Italy.[18] They were the official post service in the cantons of Solothurn, Fribourg and Geneva.[18] Their position was rather dominant, much more so after Emanuel Friedrich von Fischer[de] of the Fischer family was elected the president of the Bernese Republic[de].[19] The Fischer dynasty ended in 1832, as the new Bernese liberal Government expropriated them.[clarification needed][20]
Lucerne was the only canton which wanted to keep the post under a national administration,[21] and had to withstand the Fischer family who attempted to obtain the postal rights from the canton in 1809 and again in 1814.[22] Lucerne expanded its own service to the south in the Ticino, and its messengers were given transit rights through the cantons of Schwyz and Uri.[23] From Lucerne carriages departed to St. Gallen, Olten and Basel.[24] In 1839 the first steamboat on Lake Lucerne began to provide its services.[24]
Uri leased transit rights to the postal services of Zürich.[24] The condition was that the employees had to be from Uri.[24] In 1828 Uri gave the right of transit to the postal services of Lucerne.[25] From Altdorf in Uri, a daily carriage crossed over the Gotthard, reaching Milan in Italy.[26]
The small Canton Glarus outsourced its postal services to two entrepreneurs until 1832, the year it began to operate the post through a cantonal administration.[27]
The location of Basel at the northern border of Switzerland made the city a prominent centre for international mail exchange.[28] In 1839 Basel ordered that post boxes accessible to the public be installed in the major squares of the city.[29] After the train line between Basel and Strasbourg was inaugurated in 1844, it also transported mail between the cities.[29]
In 1848 the postal services were regulated by the new constitution which demanded a centralised administration.[30] On 1 January 1849[30] the Swiss National Post took over the fourteen cantonal post services. The postal charges for letters and packages were the same in all of Switzerland from October 1849 onwards.[31]
In 1850 the first stamps valid in all of Switzerland were issued.[32] The same year the delivery time between Basel in the north of Switzerland and Milan in Italy was limited to fifty hours.[33] From Basel the mail was transported to Lucerne, where it was shipped over Lake Lucerne to Flüelen in Uri, from where it was transported by carriage over the St. Gotthard to Bellinzona and Camerlata, from where it was loaded on a train to Milan.[33] After four years of litigation before a court in Frankfurt, the Duke of Thurn und Taxis conceded the postal rights of Schaffhausen to Switzerland in return for 150,000 CHF in 1853.[34]
In 1874, Switzerland organised the founding congress in Bern of the Universal Postal Union, of which it also became a member.[35] After 1878, Swiss post offices on steamers and railways were tasked with accepting and delivering and also sorting out mail.[36] Also donkeys, mules[37] and even a dog were in service to deliver the mail.[38]
At the beginning of the twentieth century, with technological progress, new significant means of communication arrived: the telephone and the telegraph. This led to the establishment in 1920 of the Postal Telegraph and Telephone (PTT), created from the merger of the federal telegraph administration and the general management.[39]
In 1964, Switzerland introduced Postal Codes for mail sorting,[40] becoming the third country after the United States and Germany to do so.[41] Under Guido Nobel, Swiss Post introduced several innovations: in 1975, the first national mobile telephone network (Nationales Autotelefonnetz, from which the name Natel is derived) was established. In 1985, the first fiber optic cable was installed, connecting Bern to Neuchâtel.[42] In 1978, the first Postomat (ATM) in the country was inaugurated,[43] and in 1982, barcodes were introduced for mail processing, along with the creation of a new logo for Swiss Post by the typographer Adrian Frutiger.[44] In 1985, the PostFinance system was integrated to include financial services such as current accounts and postal banking.[45] Also under Nobel, in the first half of 1986, the postal service began the national implementation of the ISDNinternet network,[46] which was launched in 1988,[47] and in 1987, the videotex/teletext system was introduced.[48]
As part of the liberalization process, the Postal Act and the Federal Communications Act of 1997 (in effect from 1998) led to the split of the PTT into two companies.[49][50][51] Postal services, including letters and parcels, payment traffic, and passenger transport, were assigned to Swiss Post (a public law entity of the Confederation), while telecommunications services were assigned to Swisscom (a private-sector company with majority participation by the Confederation).[50] Under the new legislation that came into effect between 2012 and 2013, PostFinance was spun off into a private limited company subject to the supervision of FINMA, while remaining entirely owned by Swiss Post.[52][53]
Mail volume
In 1850 the post was responsible for dispatching 16 million letters in total or 7 letters per person.[16] By 1910 it delivered fifteen and in 1950 eighty-two letters per person.[16] In 1870, the urban centres were responsible for about 25% of the letters sent while accounting for only 9% of the population.[16] In 1950 the post delivered 900 million letters, of which about 8% had a destination outside of Switzerland.[54] In 1963 the mail volume rose to 2.5 billion letters.[41]
In 2020, Swiss Post handled between 600,000 and 900,000 parcels each day.[55] In 2023, the Swiss post delivered approximately 1,647 billion letters and 185 million parcels.[56]
Real estate
The number of post offices increased from 1,502 in 1849 to over 4,000 in 1914.[57] The volumes of mail delivered by the Swiss Postal Services increased significantly and between 1887 and 1915 so-called "Postal Palaces" were built in several larger cities.[58] The first one was in Basel, then others followed in Zürich, Bern, Geneva and Olten.[59] By 1985 the Swiss Post owned about 1300 buildings and rented more than 4100.[60]
Due to changing societal habits and the rise of digital activities, between 2000 and 2024 there has been a rationalization of services, reducing the number of postal offices from approximately 3,500 to around 700.[61]
Carriages and sleds
In 1849, the Swiss Post operated almost 500 carriages and 250 sleds.[62] In 1849, the Swiss Post operated almost 500 carriages and 250 sleds pulled by horses.[62] By 1913, the post used over 2,000 carriages and 1,000 sleds in its services.[63]
Transportation of passengers
After its foundation, the post earned almost half its revenue from the transportation of passengers.[62] In 1849, the Swiss Post operated almost 500 carriages and 250 sleds, which were also operating the popular express lines in the night.[62] After the 1860s, the transportation of passengers was taken over increasingly by railway lines established along the same route as the most profitable carriages.[62]
In 2023, Swiss Post transported 175 million people via PostBus, with a fleet of around 2,400 vehicles.[56][64]
Railways
Postal wagons at the postal sorting facility in Sion, Switzerland. Mail between regional cities is transported by rail, to be delivered by postal bus, vans and cycles at a local level.
After 1844 the post delivered mail between Basel and Strasbourg in France and after 1847 also between Zürich and Baden.[65] In 1857 post wagons owned by the Swiss Railways entered into service.[65][66] In the post wagons the mail was sorted on train.[54] By 1866 the Swiss Post decided to buy their own post wagons.[65][54] In later years wagons with three and four axles were purchased.[65][54] The wagons with 4 axles were equipped with compartments in which the mail was sorted[65] and by 1965, over sixty postal train lines had come into service.[40] In 1964, the Postal Codes were established and from then the mail was sorted more in specific centres.[40] In 1986, there were 600 post wagons in the service of the Swiss Post.[65]
Air mail
The first air mail was delivered mainly as a demonstration in the early 1910s.[67] In January 1919, a regular military airmail service was established which by April 1919 was expanded also for civilian mail.[67] But the service was not profitable enough and was discontinued in October the same year.[67]
Despite the initial difficulties, air mail became a success and the Swiss Post soon expanded the service first to Germany, then to Europe, while still depending on the services of foreign airlines.[67] Before the 1930s Swiss air mail reached Africa and Asia and by the 1930s seaplanes flying from the Atlantic ocean landed in South and North America.[67] From 1931 onwards, the newly founded Swissair facilitated the creation of a dense European network for airmail deliveries.[67]
During World War II, the services diminished until halted in 1944.[67] The Swiss Post maintained a mail exchange with London and New York with seaplanes in the Atlantic on the Portuguese coast.[67]
In 1946 the American Trans World Airlines opened a route to Geneva and the Swiss Post had its first direct connection to the American continent.[68] Subsequently, at other Swiss airports like Zurich or Basel, international airmail was also received and dispatched.[68] By 1985, the Swiss Post used the services of many international airlines in addition to those of Swissair.[68]
Peculiarities
Until the 1850s about 25% of the post offices were in taverns, but this was soon forbidden by the Swiss Post as the vicinity of wine and post offices led to problems.[57] In the 1950s a St. Bernhard dog pulled the mail carriage in Adelboden.[38]
The Swiss rail network is noteworthy for its density, its coordination between services, its integration with other modes of transport, timeliness and a thriving domestic and trans-Alp freight system. It is made necessary by strong regulations on truck transport, and is enabled by properly coordinated intermodal logistics.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Switzerland.
On 26 June 1964, Swiss Post introduced postal codes as the third country after Germany (1941) and the United States (1963).
The Reuss is a river in Switzerland. With a length of 164 kilometres (102 mi) and a drainage basin of 3,426 square kilometres (1,323 sq mi), it is the fourth largest river in Switzerland. The upper Reuss forms the main valley of the canton of Uri. The course of the lower Reuss runs from Lake Lucerne to the confluence with the Aare at Brugg and Windisch.
The Gotthard Base Tunnel is a railway tunnel through the Alps in Switzerland. It opened in June 2016 and full service began the following December. With a route length of 57.09 km (35.5 mi), it is the world's longest railway and deepest traffic tunnel and the first flat, low-level route through the Alps. It lies at the heart of the Gotthard axis and constitutes the third tunnel connecting the cantons of Uri and Ticino, after the Gotthard Tunnel and the Gotthard Road Tunnel.
The Old Swiss Confederacy began as a late medieval alliance between the communities of the valleys in the Central Alps, at the time part of the Holy Roman Empire, to facilitate the management of common interests such as free trade and to ensure the peace along the important trade routes through the mountains. The Hohenstaufen emperors had granted these valleys reichsfrei status in the early 13th century. As reichsfrei regions, the cantons of Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden were under the direct authority of the emperor without any intermediate liege lords and thus were largely autonomous.
The Swiss Confederation comprises the 26 cantons of Switzerland.
The Old Swiss Confederacy, also known as Switzerland or the Swiss Confederacy, was a loose confederation of independent small states, initially within the Holy Roman Empire. It is the precursor of the modern state of Switzerland.
Vehicle license plates of Switzerland, are composed of a two-letter code for the canton and a number with up to 6 digits. The rear plates also display two shields with the flags of Switzerland and the respective canton. Since 1972, the sizes of the plates have been 300 x 80 mm (front) and 300 x 160 mm (rear). In 1987, the optional long format rear plates of 500 x 110 mm, which had been abolished in 1972, were reintroduced.
The Brünig Pass, at an altitude of 1,008 m (3,307 ft), connects the Bernese Oberland and central Switzerland, linking Meiringen in the canton of Bern and Lungern in the canton of Obwalden. It is on the watershed between the upper reaches of the Aare, which flows through Lake Brienz and Lake Thun, and the Sarner Aa, which flows into Lake Lucerne.
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a collection of semi-autonomous cantons. As membership of the confederation has fluctuated throughout history, each of these cantons has its own unique history and nobility. Typically, each canton had its own constitution, currency, jurisdiction, habits, customs, history, and nobility.
The Swiss Central Railway was one of the five major private railway companies of Switzerland. The SCB with a track length of 332 kilometres was integrated into the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) in 1902.
The Swiss Northeastern Railway was an early railway company in Switzerland. It also operated shipping on Lake Constance (Bodensee) and Lake Zürich. Until the merger of the Western Swiss Railways into the Jura–Simplon Railway (JS) in 1890/91, it was the largest Swiss railway company.
Lucerne railway station is a major hub of the rail network of Switzerland, in the city of Lucerne in the canton of Lucerne. It is a terminal station serving domestic and international traffic on several rail lines, and is situated in a city centre and waterfront location on the south side of Lake Lucerne.
The construction and operation of Swiss railways during the 19th century was carried out by private railways. The first internal line was a 16 km line opened from Zürich to Baden in 1847. By 1860 railways connected western and northeastern Switzerland. The first Alpine railway to be opened was under the Gotthard Pass in 1882. A second alpine line was opened under the Simplon Pass in 1906.
Göschenen railway station is a railway station in the Swiss canton of Uri and municipality of Göschenen. Situated on the original line of the Gotthard railway, at the northern mouth of the Gotthard Tunnel, the station is also the junction point with the Schöllenenbahn. Most trains on the Gotthard route now use the Gotthard Base Tunnel and do not pass through Göschenen station.
Flüelen railway station is a railway station in the Swiss canton of Uri and municipality of Flüelen. It is located on the Gotthard railway. The station is situated between the parallel Axenstrasse, the main road through Flüelen, and Bahnhofstrasse, with the main station buildings on Bahnhofstrasse.
Altdorf railway station is a railway station in the Swiss canton of Uri and municipality of Altdorf. The station is situated on the Gotthard railway north of its crossing of the Alps, and is the most southerly station before that line splits into the older route via Erstfeld and the original Gotthard Tunnel, and the newer route via the Gotthard Base Tunnel. The station was reconstructed between 2019 and 2021.
The Bern–Thun railway line is a double-tracked, electrified railway line that runs through the Aare valley in the Swiss canton of Bern. It is part of the Lötschberg-Simplon axis between Germany and Italy. It was opened in 1859 by the Swiss Central Railway.
References
Wyss, Arthur (1987). Die Post in der Schweiz (in German). Hallwag. ISBN3444103352.
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