German Penpals

Discover the World Through Letters -- Die Welt per Brief entdecken
Is traditional letter-writing via "snail mail" a lost art? Are envelopes and stamps obsolete? The German post office, Deutsche Post AG, doesn't think so, and they have Letternet—with over 250,000 members in more than 100 countries—to prove it! Deutsche Post would like you to "discover the world through letters" and they've set up a Letternet Web site (in German and English) to help you do that. According to the Letternet Web site, Letternet is the largest free pen pal club in the world.

I was recently surprised to learn that Letternet has been around since 1997. Membership is free and open to just about anyone in the world. All Letternet members receive a quarterly magazine called Lettermag (in German and English).

Letternet doesn't use email, but you can still use your computer to register online (see links below). You provide some info about yourself and a computer then selects your first "ideal" penpal (Brieffreundin in German). But you can also look through Letternet's registered members to select someone with whom you'd like to exchange letters. After you register, you'll receive a small package from Letternet with a welcome letter and the contact info for your first pen pal.

Although Letternet is sponsored by the German post office, your penpal(s) can be anywhere in the world. The Pinnwand (notice board) in a recent edition of Lettermag featured four pages of "classifieds" (Kleinanzeigen) for members in France, South Africa, Germany, the USA, Finland, Belarus, Turkey, Sweden, most of the German-speaking Europe, and several other countries. Although the main languages for corresponding are German and English, other languages (French, Italian, Russian, Turkish, etc.) are also possible. You can also place your own free ad in the magazine.

To learn more about Letternet and how it works, visit the Web site and other Web links below.
WEB > Letternet.de - About the pen pal organization
WEB > Letterfun.de - About the Lettermag magazine
WEB > Letternet in English from Deutsche Post AG