Category:Austrian Post Offices Abroad

The Empire of Austria gained permission in 1721 from the Ottoman Empire to operate a postal service for official correspondence. This resulted in the establishment of 61 post offices (as of June 1867) throughout the Balkans and the eastern Mediterranean. The oldest known cancellation is a double linear "CONSTAN-TINOPEL" in 1787. The latest remaining Austrian post offices in Turkey area were closed on 30 September 1914.

This system is familiarly named Levant post offices (other European countries were also participating). Before the issuance of specific stamps in 1867, the Lombardy-Venetia Soldi issues were used (hence the importance of the postmarks for identification).

N.B. In order that these are categorised they have been alloocated to both Austria and hungary Categories as they have a shared postal history to both countries.