As you walk through the streets of Germany, you’ll often come across bright yellow mailboxes. You might wonder, “Why yellow?” In contrast to Japan’s red mailboxes, this color choice has a historical background. The yellow of Deutsche Post, Germany’s postal service, is not just about visibility—it has origins dating back to the Holy Roman Empire.

In the late 15th century, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I (1459–1519) entrusted the noble Taxis family (later known as the Thurn and Taxis family) with postal services. At the time, couriers known as Postilions wore uniforms featuring yellow with black trim—colors associated with the Holy Roman Empire. Over the years, postal uniforms underwent various changes. For instance, in Prussia, a combination of dark blue and orange was used for some time. However, yellow eventually became the dominant color due to its high visibility.

In 1946, the Allied Control Council officially designated yellow as the standard color for postal services across Germany. Since then, German mailboxes and postal vehicles have remained uniformly yellow.

The next time you spot a yellow mailbox on a German street corner, you might find yourself transported through history, adding a little extra charm to your journey.