Despite Facebook, SMS and other modes of communication, postcards are very popular - particularly in the summer months. That's because vacation season is still postcard season for many people. Of the 210 million postcards delivered by Deutsche Post in 2014, 57 million were sent during the summer months June through August. Most of these postcards were sent within Germany. The rest originated mainly in Italy, Spain, Austria, France and the United States - the most popular vacation destinations for Germans. Postcards are not just used for vacation greetings, but often for humour and advertising purposes as well.

This form of correspondence is "only" 145 years old - and thus much younger than the postal service in Germany, which is celebrating its 525th birthday this year. The postcard era in Germany officially began in July 1870; at the time they were still known as "correspondence cards." Postal reformer Heinrich von Stephan introduced them as a cheap way for people to communicate.

Today Deutsche Post also offers the "Funcard" - a way for people to send personal greetings via postcard using ever-present electronic media. With the Funcard app, users can send their best pictures from their smartphone or tablet - as a printed postcard with a real stamp and individual greeting text. Within 24 hours, the card is printed in good quality on premium paper and delivered by Deutsche Post. Another advantage over conventional postcards is that the Funcard be sent in a practical and user-friendly manner to numerous recipients at the same time.

It costs EUR1.90 to print and send a Funcard within Germany and EUR2.25 to the rest of the world. Payment can be made easily, securely and comfortably using PayPal or a credit card.

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Source: Deutsche Post DHL