How old do you reckon the oldest newspaper on earth is? A few decades, maybe a couple of centuries at best? Imagine something that’s survived plagues, wars, revolutions, and even the invention of the internet. Now, think 17th century—a time when coffee houses buzzed with gossip, the printing press was the tomorrow technology, and public hangings drew bigger crowds than football finals. Hidden in plain sight, the world’s oldest surviving newspaper has outlasted empires, dodged bans, and reinvented itself more times than Madonna.
The Origins of Newspapers: When Did It All Begin?
The idea of publishing news for the masses is actually older than you might guess. Let’s zip back to Europe in the early 1600s—the time of ruffles, muskets, and horse-drawn everything. Sure, handwritten news sheets floated around ancient Rome and China long before, but the first printed newspapers as we’d recognise them began in Germany. The "Relation aller Fürnemmen und gedenckwürdigen Historien" (try saying that after a pint), printed by Johann Carolus in Strasbourg in 1605, is widely credited as the very first. It was more market bulletin than sensational headline, but it set the stage.
Back then, news was local and slow. Cities published their own weekly or monthly "gazettes," sometimes just a single piece of paper with less ink than today’s receipts. Newsprint was precious. Printing technology meant every copy was a small miracle. Yet as printing presses spread across borders, so did the hunger for news. Amsterdam, Venice, and London soon had their own take on news sheets, with stories ranging from dry politics to gold robberies at the docks.
The word "newspaper" itself didn’t even exist yet. What they called them usually depended on where you lived—"gazettes," "diarios," "courants." And let’s not forget many early publishers kept things anonymous—writing out your name could get you thrown in the dungeons for printing the wrong story. It was journalism with an edge (and sometimes a dagger).
Paper wasn’t cheap, ink was fiddly, and distribution meant relying on hungry messengers or the local stagecoach. Yet, people wanted news—trading, gossiping, debating—forever proving that staying in the loop is part of our DNA. It wasn’t just about scandal. Whole communities depended on newspapers to work out what laws were coming, what crops to plant, or whether there were pirates lurking offshore last week.
This is the murky pond where the oldest surviving newspapers first took root. But which one still prints today? Let’s reveal the heavyweight champion of news longevity.
The World’s Oldest Surviving Newspaper: Sweden’s Post-och Inrikes Tidningar
If you’re looking for the record-breaker, edge your finger over Sweden on the map. Over there, in Stockholm, something remarkable began in 1645—right as Oliver Cromwell was storming around Britain and the English Civil War was rumbling. Sweden’s "Post-och Inrikes Tidningar" (which means "Posts and Domestic Times" for those whose Swedish is a bit rusty) is the oldest surviving newspaper anywhere on the planet. It started as an official gazette for government notices but soon became the heartbeat of Swedish news.
Picture life in the 1640s: Sweden’s population was just nudging past a million, King Christina was still on the throne, and the Thirty Years’ War was tearing Europe apart. Yet, while armies marched, a clever publisher named Queen Christina’s postmaster, Axel Oxenstierna, decided it was time for the King’s postal service to keep people updated—for national unity and control, yes, but also public education. It started off lean, just official decrees, shipping news, trade prices, and the odd scandal (which, even then, was impossible to avoid).
What made this newspaper outlast hundreds of its European cousins, many of which blinked out after a few decades? Strictly speaking, Post-och Inrikes Tidningar was always an official publication, tightly tied to the Swedish government. Unlike private newspapers relying on sales or advertising, this one got steady support from the top. Rules changed with each new monarch, but the paper was too useful to fizz out.
For centuries, Swedes turned to the paper for everything that mattered—birth announcements, government laws and tenders, bankruptcies, auctions, legal notices. If you owed money, got fined, or wanted to make a public business announcement, you were immortalised in print. In a way, it was a sort of national Twitter feed long before Elon Musk started making headlines.
Here’s the kicker: until 2007, Post-och Inrikes Tidningar was still printing on actual paper. After that, it moved entirely online. The Swedish Academy of Letters and royal authority saw no point in chopping down more trees just to print legal ads that nobody really read in the traditional sense. So, while the presses fell silent, the name and function live on in the digital age. Guinness World Records still recognises it as the world’s oldest surviving newspaper—a title it holds with pride.
You might find it odd flipping through its digital pages today. Dry as the Sahara, it’s a sea of legal notices, tender offers, and official bulletins. Yet, every morning since 1645, it’s been there—a testament to the stubborn resilience of ink and type (or pixels and code). For students of journalism, it’s a masterclass in survival—relentlessly adapting, never once missing a public beat.
Other Famous Contenders and Their Claim to Fame
Now, the title of "oldest surviving newspaper" is a hotly contested one. Depending on how you define it—by date founded, frequency, or whether it’s printed at all—other papers throw their hats in the ring. Let’s talk about a few close contenders.
If you head to Vienna, the "Wiener Zeitung" wants a word. Founded in 1703, it’s one of Europe’s oldest newspapers still going in print. Unlike Sweden’s legal notices sheet, the Wiener Zeitung actually reports news, publishes features, and even runs op-eds. In the UK, the "London Gazette" claims its roots back to 1665, when it started as the official royal court news outlet during the Great Plague (yes, that one—the rats, the masks, the body carts). The Gazette isn’t a traditional newspaper, but it’s been in continuous operation and still publishes everything from royal proclamations to insolvency notices. If a business collapses in Manchester, you’ll find it in the Gazette before it hits your local WhatsApp group.
Scoot across the Channel and the "Haarlems Dagblad" in the Netherlands shouts about its own legacy. Papers like this kicked off in the 17th and 18th centuries and adjusted formats, merged, split, weathered wars and censorship. They prove that the newspaper isn’t just a product—it’s a living cultural force. Some, like Denmark’s "Berlingske," have held on since 1749. In America, the "Hartford Courant," started printing in 1764, making it the continent’s oldest continuously-published paper.
Hand on heart, though, many of these papers changed so drastically—merging with rivals, flipping languages, or rebooting after wars—that continuity is sometimes a stretch. Purists argue that Sweden’s Post-och Inrikes Tidningar, with its unbroken thread since 1645, is still the undisputed champ. Others think the Gazette, which still prints and posts each coronation and national emergency, deserves a bit more page space in the record books.
So next time someone asks about the world’s oldest newspaper, hit them with names and dates—it’s bound to win pub trivia or at least impress your local librarian. And if you’re ever feeling ancient, just remember—these papers were printing news when the world ran on candlelight and kings still lost their heads.
What Does Survival Really Mean for Newspapers?
Let’s pull back for a second. Why do some newspapers last while others just fade away or go bust? It’s not just about having deep pockets or royal favour. Newspapers that have survived across centuries share a few secret ingredients—adaptability, a clear social role, and the knack for being useful, even if it’s in a dry, official sort of way.
When newspapers became daily essentials in the 18th and 19th centuries, people would gather in public spaces—markets, pubs, train stations—and swap stories ripped straight from the latest edition. Back then, news was still a commodity—expensive, rare, and vital. Today’s digital newsrooms pump out breaking headlines round the clock, but old-school newspapers taught us how important facts, records, and details really are. They hold the receipts of history, the lineage of public opinion, and the legal memory of nations.
But survival calls for change. Post-och Inrikes Tidningar made the jump from print to digital while others stubbornly clung to presses until the bitter end. Many historical newspapers have embraced digital archiving, making centuries of articles searchable online. This is a goldmine for historians and anyone keen on family history. Your ancestor’s bankruptcy, marriage, or mysterious disappearance might still be hidden in one of these digital vaults.
If you’re hunting for old stories, many national libraries and archives host searchable databases. Explore the digital shelves of Sweden’s National Library, the British Library’s newspaper archives, or America’s Library of Congress. You’ll find thousands of voices, disasters, revolutions, and triumphs—most for free. The trick is knowing the right keywords and dates. It’s a bit like time-travel for history buffs and a treasure hunt for the rest of us.
For modern readers, knowing the story of the oldest surviving newspaper isn’t just about nostalgia. It’s a reminder that reliable news and public record-keeping never go out of fashion. Even as clickbait and social media thunder on, the careful preservation of our shared stories—warts and all—gives us a point of reference, a sense of continuity. Next time you see a tweet about fake news, remember there’s still an ancient paper somewhere in Sweden quietly recording every new chapter, just as it has for nearly four centuries.
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