German Confederation
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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The German Confederation (Template:Lang-de) was the loose association of Central European states created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 to coordinate the economies. It was a successor to the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, which had been abolished in 1806. In 1848, revolutions by liberals and nationalists occurred in an attempt to establish a unified German state. Talks between the German states failed in 1848, and the confederation briefly dissolved but was re-established in 1850.
The dispute between the two dominant member states of the confederation, Austria and Prussia (German dualism), over which of the two had the inherent right to rule German lands ended in favour of Prussia after the Austro-Prussian War in 1866, and the collapse of the confederation. This resulted in the creation of the North German Confederation, with a number of south German states remaining independent, although allied first with Austria (until 1867) and subsequently with Prussia (until 1871), after which they became a part of the new nation of Germany.
- The Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia were the largest and by far the most powerful members of the Confederation. Large parts of both countries were not included in the Confederation, because they had not been part of the former Holy Roman Empire, nor had the greater parts of their armed forces been incorporated in the federal army. Each of them had one vote in the Federal Assembly.
- Three member states were ruled by foreign monarchs: the King of Denmark, the King of the Netherlands, and the King of Great Britain (until 1837) were members of the German Confederation; the first as Duke of Holstein, the second as Grand Duke of Luxembourg and Duke of Limburg, and the latter as King of Hanover. Each of them had a vote in the Federal Assembly.
- Six other greater states had one vote each in the Federal Assembly: the King of Bavaria, the King of Saxony, the King of Württemberg, the prince-elector of Hesse, the Grand Duke of Baden and the Grand Duke of Hesse.
- 23 smaller and tiny member states shared five votes in the Federal Assembly.
- The four free cities of Bremen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, and Lübeck shared one vote in the Federal Assembly.
See also
- States of the German Confederation
- List of German monarchs
- History of Germany
- Holy Roman Empire
- German Empire
- North German Confederation
- Former countries in Europe after 1815
