Austrian Empire Facts & Worksheets

The Metternich System

• Under Metternich, the Austrian Empire aligned itself with Russia and less with Prussia. 
• Metternich’s diplomatic and political framework emphasised conservatism, balance of power, and cooperation among European monarchies. 
• The system was focused on forming alliances and collectively responding to liberal movements and acts of nationalism in Europe. It aimed to suppress revolutions, such as those in France, often through military intervention. 
• As evidence of his influence, the period between 1815 and 1848 is also called the Age of Metternich. As chancellor, he heavily controlled the Habsburg’s foreign policy. He considered absolute monarchy the only proper system of government.
• In support of the Habsburgs, Metternich practised balance-of-power diplomacy, which secured Austria’s influence in international affairs. 
• As a benefit of the Quadruple Alliance (Britain, Prussia, Austria, and Russia), Austria became the leading member of the German Confederation. 
• At home, Metternich employed the Carlsbad Decrees of 1819, which implemented strict censorship of press, speech, and education. Another method of repressing revolutionary and liberal ideals was the use of spy networks. 
• The death of Francis I in 1835 did not completely remove Metternich’s political influence, but it began to diminish following the accession of Ferdinand I, Francis I’s son.
• While Ferdinand I was deemed incapable of ruling, the leadership of the Austrian Empire was given to the state council composed of Metternich, Archduke Louis, and Count Franz Anton Kolowrat. 

Did you know?

In recognition of his service to the Austrian Empire, Klemens von Metternich was given the title of “Prince” in October 1813. 

The Revolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Empire

• The Revolutions of 1848 in Austria were part of the widespread revolutionary wave that swept across Europe. The fall of Metternich achieved an early victory, further inspiring revolts in various parts of the monarchy. The liberals attained a few victories, particularly the abolition of the remaining forms of agrarian feudalism. However, the conservatives eventually returned to power. When the revolutions concluded in 1849, Austria became an even more autocratic state.
• In 1848 and early 1849, Europe witnessed its most widespread revolutionary wave, now often referred to as the Springtime of Nations or the Year of Revolution. The increasingly radical protests affected more than fifty countries, with France, the states of the German Confederation, Italy, and the Austrian Empire having the most important revolutions. 
• Whilst the uprisings had no significant coordination among their respective revolutionaries, they were brought about by similar contributing factors such as dissatisfaction with the poor governance and the negligence of the European monarchs towards the people, the emergence of new ideas such as nationalism, liberalism, and socialism in Europe, and the shared desire for reform of the middle and working classes.
• On 13 March 1848, news of the Paris uprising reached Vienna. It inspired crowds, primarily students and members of liberal clubs, to protest in the city to call for basic freedoms and a liberalisation of the regime. Without the intention to antagonise the people, the government initially responded by calling out troops to suppress the crowds, which resulted in severe clashes between the authorities and the people.
• To avoid further provocation of the crowds, the government dismissed Klemens von Metternich and promised to declare a constitution. Metternich had worked for years to maintain the vast Austrian Empire and, in the process, became a symbol of repression, particularly among ethnic groups.
• Between March and October 1848, revolution and counterrevolution surged in Vienna. In April, Emperor Ferdinand I issued a constitution providing for an elected legislature. In mid-May, as the revolutionaries gained more influence, the Habsburgs and the government fled Vienna.
• When the legislature met in June, it rejected the constitution favouring one that promised to be more democratic. By this time, the revolution began to run out of steam as support from the bourgeoisie waned.
• This allowed the Habsburgs and their advisers to regroup. In October, the army successfully retook Vienna and executed a number of the city’s radical leaders. The legislature moved to Kremsier in the province of Moravia and continued to work on a constitution.
• Upon finishing the constitution, the emperor overruled and dismissed it. 
• Whilst the legislature failed to implement a working constitution in Austria, it issued significant legislation with long-lasting influence: the liberation of the peasantry.
• The Revolutions of 1848 also affected other ethnic groups in the Habsburg monarchy, such as the Hungarians, who had long been motivated by nationalism.
• Under liberal pressure from Vienna, Emperor Ferdinand I was forced to accept the changes, enabling the Hungarians to create their own constitution, the March Laws.
• In an ironic twist of fate, the Hungarians faced resistance from the other ethnicities in the country, who were motivated by the idea of nationalism and self-rule.
• As resistance continued, the Hungarians proclaimed total independence from the Habsburgs in April 1849, but the new Austrian emperor Franz Joseph requested Russia's aid.
• Now, with the aid of Tsar Nicholas of Russia, the Hungarians were defeated, and Austria ruled the land more firmly. 
• With Metternich's resignation, the revolutionaries in other parts of the Austrian Empire grew motivated. They followed the Hungarians' lead, and revolts broke out in Bohemia, Lombardy-Venetia, and Prussia.

Did you know?

In December 1848, Ferdinand I abdicated the throne of Austria in favour of his nephew Franz Joseph as part of Minister President Felix zu Schwarzenberg’s plan to end the 1848 Hungarian Revolution.