Kniffka Philatelie

The Imperial Reichspost (Kaiserliche Reichspost) was the name of the postal service in the Holy Roman Empire founded by Franz von Taxis in 1495. It remained a monopoly of the Thurn and Taxis family that terminated with the end of the Empire in 1806. In modern times the Deutsche Reichspost was established as a state monopoly at the 1871 unification of Germany and was the official German national postal authority. Its official name was Kaiserliche Post- und Telegraphenverwaltung. Between 1924 and 1934 it was operated as a state-owned entreprise. The Reichspost ceased to function with the end of WWII in 1945.