Wiener Congress: Europe's fate redefined - a review

Wiener Congress: Europe's fate redefined - a review

Wien, Österreich - Vienna, the city of music and culture, was not only a center of the arts in the 19th century, but also the scene of significant political events. An outstanding chapter in the history of the metropolis is the Wiener Kongress from June 18, 1815. Under the direction of the Austrian Foreign Minister Prince Klemens of Metternich, Emperor, kings and states from all over Europe gathered to create a new order after the devastating Napoleonic wars.

The goal of the congress was clear: to define a long -term peace order and the questions that had resulted from the French revolutionary wars and the Napoleonic wars to clarify through diplomacy. Despite the challenging situation, France, represented by Talleyrand, had only a limited influence on the decisions that were mostly affected by the four major powers of Russia, Great Britain, Prussia and Austria.

The principles of the congress

As part of the congress, five central principles were set:

• Restoration of the political order from 1792.
• Legitimacy for the return of the rulers distributed by Napoleon.
• guarantee the sovereignty of the monarchy.
• obligation to prevent revolutionary movements.
• Creation of an equilibrium of the European powers.

essential resolutions included the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy in France, the division of Poland between Prussia and Russia and the recovery of areas for Austria, including Salzburg, Tyrol and Vorarlberg. Another resulting element was the foundation of the German Confederation, which consisted of 39 states and was under the presidency of the Austrian emperor. Great Britain took the opportunity to strengthen its colonial power and kept areas such as Malta and Ceylon.

a long -term peace plan

The Congress of Vienna, as far as its organizational concerns were concerned, was a forerunner for the constitutional and political structures that should secure European balance until the First World War. He led to the formation of the "Concert of Europe", a political doctrine that emphasized the protection of the political borders and promoted cooperation between the great powers. Despite the criticism that the congress of national and liberal movements had an important role in preventing large -scale wars, which lasted almost hundreds of years.

according to the Federal Center remained between 1815 and 1914 Stable, even if there were some smaller conflicts during this time. The regulations of the congress laid a basis that held up to the revolutionary upheavals of 1848/49 when the national efforts could not be completely suppressed.

The Vienna Congress was therefore not only a formative event for the European politics of its time, but can also be seen as a model for later international organizations such as the League of Nations and the United Nations. On June 9, 1815, the congress ended with the signing of the final acts, and a new era in European history was heralded. The shadow of Napoleon, whose return and final defeat at Waterloo was still in the air in 1815, illustrated how fragile the peace was.