Germany introduced postal codes on 25 July 1941, in the form of a two-digit system that was applied initially for the parcel service and later for all mail deliveries. This system was replaced in 1962 in West Germany by a four-digit system; three years later East Germany followed with its own four-digit system. Whereas the Federal Republic introduced a system with space left for the East German postal system after a possible reunification, such as by omitting all codes starting with '1' (except 1000 for West Berlin) and '9', the German Democratic Republic had a system that used all codes starting from '1' to '9' just for East Germany.
Today, German postal codes are numeric and have consisted of five digits since 1993. Between 1990 and 1993 the previous four-digit codes in the former West were prefixed with the letter "W", and in the former East with the letter "O" (for "Ost", "east" in German). Even though the western system had kept some number ranges free, specifically for later integration of the East in case of reunification, it was decided that the time was right to create an entirely new system for the 1990s, in which larger towns and cities would be divided into multiple postal code areas (the old system had inconsistently used additional numbers after the city's names), and companies receiving large amounts of post (such as mail-order businesses) could be assigned their own private code. This resulted in a system where one could no longer identify the size of the city by the number of trailing zeros in its postal code (such as 2000 for Hamburg or 8000 for Munich).
Post office boxes are arranged in racks containing several dozens of them. Each rack is identified by an individual postal code.
The 1993 system has geographic zones on the first (Postleitzonen) and on the second level (Postleitregion), e.g., 1 is North East Germany, and 10 is a zone in the inner city of Berlin.
German Postleitzahl map of the first two digits. The green lines mark state borders, which do not always correspond with postal code areas.
P. O. box racks in a German post office of the Duisburg post code area. The top number is the postal code (PLZ=Postleitzahl) for the individual rack.
On 31 December 2007, the zones had the following area and population:
There are three states (Saxony, Saarland and Schleswig-Holstein), in addition to the city states (Berlin, Bremen and Hamburg), that lie completely within one postal zone, while three states (Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Baden-Württemberg) cover four postal zones.
postal, codes, germany, germany, introduced, postal, codes, july, 1941, form, digit, system, that, applied, initially, parcel, service, later, mail, deliveries, this, system, replaced, 1962, west, germany, four, digit, system, three, years, later, east, german. Germany introduced postal codes on 25 July 1941 in the form of a two digit system that was applied initially for the parcel service and later for all mail deliveries This system was replaced in 1962 in West Germany by a four digit system three years later East Germany followed with its own four digit system Whereas the Federal Republic introduced a system with space left for the East German postal system after a possible reunification such as by omitting all codes starting with 1 except 1000 for West Berlin and 9 the German Democratic Republic had a system that used all codes starting from 1 to 9 just for East Germany Today German postal codes are numeric and have consisted of five digits since 1993 Between 1990 and 1993 the previous four digit codes in the former West were prefixed with the letter W and in the former East with the letter O for Ost east in German Even though the western system had kept some number ranges free specifically for later integration of the East in case of reunification it was decided that the time was right to create an entirely new system for the 1990s in which larger towns and cities would be divided into multiple postal code areas the old system had inconsistently used additional numbers after the city s names and companies receiving large amounts of post such as mail order businesses could be assigned their own private code This resulted in a system where one could no longer identify the size of the city by the number of trailing zeros in its postal code such as 2000 for Hamburg or 8000 for Munich Post office boxes are arranged in racks containing several dozens of them Each rack is identified by an individual postal code The 1993 system has geographic zones on the first Postleitzonen and on the second level Postleitregion e g 1 is North East Germany and 10 is a zone in the inner city of Berlin German Postleitzahl map of the first two digits The green lines mark state borders which do not always correspond with postal code areas P O box racks in a German post office of the Duisburg post code area The top number is the postal code PLZ Postleitzahl for the individual rack On 31 December 2007 the zones had the following area and population Leitzone Area km Population Region covered Large cities0 37 187 8 6 819 607 Saxony southern parts of Saxony Anhalt and Brandenburg eastern part of Thuringia Dresden Leipzig Halle Chemnitz Cottbus Jena1 47 642 4 7 034 541 Berlin larger parts of Brandenburg and Mecklenburg Vorpommern small parts of Lower Saxony and Saxony Anhalt Berlin Potsdam Frankfurt Oder Rostock Schwerin2 44 207 4 8 691 409 Hamburg Schleswig Holstein northern part of Lower Saxony Bremen small part of Mecklenburg Vorpommern Hamburg Lubeck Kiel Bremen Bremerhaven Oldenburg3 45 488 1 9 012 212 southern part of Lower Saxony eastern part of Westphalia northern parts of Hesse Thuringia and Saxony Anhalt Hanover Bielefeld Kassel Fulda Giessen Gottingen Brunswick Magdeburg4 20 212 3 10 331 535 north western part of North Rhine Westphalia south western part of Lower Saxony Dusseldorf Dortmund Essen Duisburg Bochum Wuppertal Bielefeld Munster Monchengladbach Gelsenkirchen Oberhausen Osnabruck5 28 834 5 9 233 815 south western part of North Rhine Westphalia larger part of Rhineland Palatinate small part of Hesse Cologne Bonn Aachen Mainz Koblenz Trier6 17 247 9 7 540 503 southern parts of Hesse Rhineland Palatinate Saarland small parts of Bavaria and Baden Wurttemberg Frankfurt Main Wiesbaden Darmstadt Saarbrucken Heidelberg Mannheim Aschaffenburg7 27 864 2 8 715 898 larger part of Baden Wurttemberg small part of Rhineland Palatinate Stuttgart Tubingen Freiburg Konstanz Baden Baden8 36 427 2 7 675 001 southern part of Bavaria south eastern part of Baden Wurttemberg Munich Rosenheim Augsburg Ulm Ingolstadt9 47 803 7 7 163 416 northern part of Bavaria Franconia larger part of Thuringia small part of Baden Wurttemberg Nuremberg Wurzburg Erfurt Weimar Eisenach Bamberg BayreuthThere are three states Saxony Saarland and Schleswig Holstein in addition to the city states Berlin Bremen and Hamburg that lie completely within one postal zone while three states Lower Saxony Saxony Anhalt and Baden Wurttemberg cover four postal zones See also EditBriefzentrum Deutsche Post External links EditFind town or P O box by postal code and in reverse order Portals Writing Geography Germany Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Postal codes in Germany amp oldid 1103665906, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
