The Question of German Unification (2 minutes)
The Revolutions of 1848 had fostered many nationalist movements across
Europe that sought to develop nations based on ethnic identity rather than kingdoms and empires based on the rule of monarchs. One such nationalist movement was the – German unification movement – that sought to unite all of the German states into one nation.
In 1849 The Frankfurt National Assembly met, as a result of the 1848 revolutions, the assembly proposed to unite the German states in a constitutional monarchy. They offered The Prussian king Friedrich Wilhelm IV the chance to head this proposed state but he declined feeling that the proposed constitution inhibited the rights of the German princes.
After the Frankfurt National Assembly disbanded the German Confederation of 1815 resumed. It had been created by the Congress of Vienna was an attempt to create a confederation of
Map Of Switzerland Germany And Austria
German states that would serve as a buffer between the powerful German states of Austria and Prussia. This confederation ended in 1866 when the Austro-Prussian War.
In 1862 Otto von Bismarck became the Prussian minister-president and was able to dominate the German states due to the support of Russia who had felt betrayed by Austria in the Crimean War. When Prussia and Austria went to war Prussia was victorious due to the modernization of its army. The result of this war was that Austria be excluded from both Germany and Italy. The German Confederation was ended and the North German Confederation was formed and Austria was excluded from this Confederation. Austria also lost Venetia, its last Italian territory to Italy.
Map Of Italy And Austria Photo Gallery
The Kiss by Gustav Klimt
The Ausgieich of 1867 (1 minute) Industrialization and Urbanization (1 minute) Trouble in the Balkans (1 minute)
Events Leading to World War I (2 minutes) Map Of Ski Resorts In Austria Physical Map Of Austria
World War I: 1914-1918 (1 minute)
The defeated of Austria in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 placed economic hardships on the Austrian Empire prompting the Habsburgs to settle the constitutional reorganization of the empire. Hungary wanted to become an autonomous state; however in 1867 the Empire made a Ausgleich or Compromise with Hungary the largest of the Empires non-German provinces. Austria and Hungary were merged together, each were constitutionally autonomous with their own government and parliament. There was no common citizenship but weights and measures, the currency and the postal service were all shared. This was the formation of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
