BONN (dpa-AFX) - Before Deutsche Post discontinued its telegram service, thousands of people took the chance to send one last telegraphic greeting at the turn of the year. On Dec. 31 - the last day before the service was discontinued - 3228 telegrams were sent in the Federal Republic, Deutsche Post reported Wednesday. By comparison, between 200 and 300 telegrams were sent - per month - in previous years.

Invented in the 19th century, the telegram was one of the fastest ways to transmit important information until well into the 20th century. The text, dictated in person or by telephone at the post office or telegraph office, was usually transmitted by teletype to a post office or telegraph office near the recipient and then delivered by messenger.

Since the price of a telegram, which was usually quite high, depended on the number of words, a special style of language developed with short forms instead of complete sentences. A typical formulation was, for example: "Arrive Saturday 8 p.m. Grandma". With the spread of the telephone, and even more so with the advent of the Internet and smartphones, the telegram became less important.

In the end, it was hardly used by private customers, the Post emphasized. Companies sometimes still used it for reminders or as a token of appreciation for long-serving employees on company anniversaries, but that, too, had become increasingly rare. In 2018, the Post had already stopped sending telegrams abroad. At the turn of the year, it stopped the service completely, following the example of many other postal companies around the world.

A mini-telegram with up to 160 characters last cost at least 12.57 euros, a maxi-telegram with up to 480 characters 17.89 euros - in the simple version. With a decorative sheet, the price was 21.98 euros./rea/DP/mis