Old bound issues
of POiT (via Xinhua)

A Swedish newspaper dating back to 1645 is set to make another first: the world's oldest surviving newspaper will be available only online, shuttering the print the version, according to the New York Times.

The Post ock Inrikes Tidningar, or PoIT, printed its last issue on Dec. 29 for about 1,500 subscribers. The paper was launched by Queen Christina during the costly Thirty Years' War and was a way of explaining to citizens where their taxes were going.

The online paper has a single employee: editor Roland Haegglund, who said though he is sad the jump to online is also a natural step.

The paper, which was and remains the official organ of the Swedish government, hit its stride in the 17th and 18th centuries covering foreign and domestic news; it has since shrunk to carrying announcements by financial, legal and corporate institutions.