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Postcard delivered — 51 years late

James Franey
October 9, 2020

A postcard sent from Rome to a Bavarian monastery has reached its final destination after more than half a century.

https://p.dw.com/p/3jfDj
The Münsterschwarzach Abbey in Schwarzach
Münsterschwarzach Abbey in SchwarzachImage: picture-alliance/imageBROKER/BAO

Better late than never, as the old adage goes.

But waiting for more than half a century for your postcard to arrive?

That is what happened to one person who paid a visit to Rome over half a century ago.

The postcard, dated April 1969, finally turned up at Münsterschwarzach Abbey last week, according to a post on social media.Münsterschwarzach Abbey's Facebook page

It turns out the sender, known only as Hildegard, had made a mistake with the address, relegating the postcard to the Deutsche Post dead letter mail archives for five decades.

Read more: Instagram, 19th-century style: The first German postcard

It's now on display at the monastery in the tiny town of Schwazach am Main, some 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) east of Wurzburg.