Kullerpostikorraldus ja teadete edastamise kiirus Tallinna ja Rootsi vahel 16. sajandi teisel poolel ja 17. sajandi esimesel kolmandikul
The Organisation of Courier Postal Services and the Speed of Message Delivery between Tallinn and Sweden in the Latter Half of the 16th Century and First Third of the 17th Century

Summary/Abstract: This article examines how the delivery of letters and messages was organised by way of couriers between Tallinn and Stockholm in the latter half of the 16th century and first third of the 17th century, that is before the introduction of a regular state-run postal system in 1636. The article examines Tallinn’s place in the Swedish crown’s communication system, the speed of the delivery of letters, and factors that affected that speed. When Tallinn was incorporated into the Swedish state in 1561, the need arose to exchange written and oral information between the motherland and her new overseas possession. As the territory under Swedish rule expanded in Estland and Livland, letters were already distributed more broadly by way of Tallinn to Pärnu, Narva, Haapsalu, and other fortresses. At least some of the couriers delivering letters between Sweden and its neighbouring countries, Russia and Poland, passed through Tallinn. The royal authorities sent all manner of notices and orders to Tallinn. Letters in the form of reports and enquiries were sent in the opposite direction by the crown’s local representatives, the Stadthalters and governors, and the town council. Royal letters moved as necessary by way of courier postal service until the state-run regular postal system was established in Sweden–Finland and in the overseas provinces.

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