Inside tiny European village where mail has been delivered by boat for 129 years
Inside tiny European village where mail has been delivered by boat for 129 years
Kirsten GrieshaberThu, April 30, 2026 at 10:42 AM UTC
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Deutsche Post delivery staff member Andrea Bunar manoeuvers her vessel as she makes the season opening delivery tour of the Spreewald barge postal delivery service (AFP/Getty)
Andrea Bunar had been anticipating spring for months, eager for the day she could resume her distinctive mail delivery by barge through the intricate waterways of the Spreewald Forest delta, southeast of Berlin.
This Wednesday, the 55-year-old German postal worker stood once more at the back of her boat, skilfully using a single long oar to row, steer, and navigate her vessel through the shallow waters.
"The start of the season is always special for me," Bunar said, embarking on her bright yellow barge in her official postal uniform.
"After the long winter break, I enjoy being in the nature and back on the water." For 14 years, Bunar has delivered mail and packages to the residents of Lehde, a village about 100 kilometres (around 60 miles) southeast of Berlin.
During winter, she transports mail by car to farms and homes, a task often made cumbersome by icy roads and significantly longer travel times.
However, from April to October, she returns to her nine-metre-long (29-foot-long) barge, efficiently dropping off post Monday through Saturday into mailboxes the villagers of Lehde have thoughtfully placed right on the riverbanks.
Mailwoman Andrea Bunar delivers mail from a boat during the first tour of the summer when mail delivered on the waterways in the village Lehde in Luebbenau, Germany (AP)
She also sells stamps to the residents living along the remote route and they can send their own mail with her.
The Spreewald is famous for its network of 300 kilometers (about 185 miles) of waterways, many of them leading through lush forests and wetlands. As an inland delta, the Spree River, which also runs through Berlin, branches into hundreds of small canals in the forest.
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It was also designated a UNESCO biosphere to protect its ecosystem, including the region's diverse fauna and flora.
Lehde is the only place in Germany where the mail is delivered by boat. In fact, the village has been getting its mail for 129 years by boat.
Before that, villagers picked up their mail once a week on Sunday in a church after the service.
The Spreewald is famous for its network of 300 kilometers (about 185 miles) of waterways, many of them leading through lush forests and wetlands ()
But as people moved away from the countryside to cities, the need for more long-distance communication grew, and thus the German postal service started to deliver mail more often — and in the case of Lehde, which looks like a lush Teutonic miniature version of Venice, deliver it by boat.
Every week, Bunar delivers around 600 letters and 80 packages. She needs about two hours to steer her barge through the 8-kilometer (around 5-mile) route.
Recently, it’s been less letters and more packages for the postal worker.
“I already delivered an e-scooter, a lawnmower and a fridge — sometimes my barge feels like a little container ship,” she said. On Wednesday, her first day of the spring season, she had to bring one resident a big saw — in addition to the usual bills, registered mail and letters.
“This is and has been my dream job all along,” Bunar said with a smile. “Being on the water is just so relaxing — it slows down life.”
Source: “AOL Breaking”
