Postal services can sometimes be slow but Germany has set a new record by delivering a letter 286 years late.

The letter from a Lutheran church official in the town of Eisenach was sent to officials in the nearby town of Ostheim in 1718, authorising them to pick a new clergyman after the death of the former holder of the office.It was delivered by mistake to a different Ostheim near Frankfurt, and ended up in the town archives.

Karl Schneider, 73, a local historian from Ostheim-vor-der-Rhoen which should have received the letter almost 300 years ago uncovered the mistake while discussing archive material with a colleague from the other Ostheim where it was mistakenly sent. Schneider matched the letter with names and events in his own town's history, and the letter was finally delivered Wednesday.