What was Treaty of Vienna ?

hi

Two hundred years ago, European rulers were in the midst of what may well have been the most extravagant celebration in history—the “Congress of Vienna.” After more than two decades of war against Revolutionary and Napoleonic France, it was time for the victorious allied sovereigns, their ministers and generals to kick back and enjoy themselves.

The previous May, they had issued an open invitation to all interested parties to send representatives to Vienna, capital of the Austrian Empire, to participate in the reconstruction of Europe. Their intent was to secure the assent of the rest of Europe to their own decisions, but the plan backfired when they failed to reach agreement among themselves before the other guests to the party began arriving.

The previous May, they had issued an open invitation to all interested parties to send representatives to Vienna, capital of the Austrian Empire, to participate in the reconstruction of Europe. Their intent was to secure the assent of the rest of Europe to their own decisions, but the plan backfired when they failed to reach agreement among themselves before the other guests to the party began arriving.

Hundreds of representatives and their entourages showed up, swelling the population of the walled city along the Danube by more than a third. The Austrian Emperor and his foreign minister, Prince Metternich, played the hosts, and despite the perilous state of imperial finances, they spared no expense in lavishness. The Russian Tsar and the Kings of Prussia, Denmark, Bavaria and Wurttemberg all resided as special guests in the Hofburg Palace in the heart of Vienna

170 new imperial carriages were built just for the occasion, while thousands of sumptuous new uniforms were manufactured to clothe an expanded imperial staff. Every night, hundreds of guests ate at the Emperor’s expense.  There were nightly dinners and soirées, frequent masked balls, and a series of spectacular special events, such as a costumed medieval joust in the Spanish Riding School and a giant sleigh ride to the Palace of Schönbrunn on the outskirts of the city. These festivities didn’t continue just for days—they went on for months and months.

Mark Jarrett is the author of “The Congress of Vienna and its Legacy” (London: I.B. Tauris, 2014) and will be a speaker at the forthcoming conference at the European Institute of Columbia University this February 5 and 6, “The Congress of Vienna, 1814-1815: Making Peace after Global War.”

Two hundred years ago, European rulers were in the midst of what may well have been the most extravagant celebration in history—the “Congress of Vienna.” After more than two decades of war against Revolutionary and Napoleonic France, it was time for the victorious allied sovereigns, their ministers and generals to kick back and enjoy themselves.

Two hundred years ago, European rulers were in the midst of what may well have been the most extravagant celebration in history—the “Congress of Vienna.” After more than two decades of war against Revolutionary and Napoleonic France, it was time for the victorious allied sovereigns, their ministers and generals to kick back and enjoy themselves.

The previous May, they had issued an open invitation to all interested parties to send representatives to Vienna, capital of the Austrian Empire, to participate in the reconstruction of Europe. Their intent was to secure the assent of the rest of Europe to their own decisions, but the plan backfired when they failed to reach agreement among themselves before the other guests to the party began arriving.

Hundreds of representatives and their entourages showed up, swelling the population of the walled city along the Danube by more than a third. The Austrian Emperor and his foreign minister, Prince Metternich, played the hosts, and despite the perilous state of imperial finances, they spared no expense in lavishness.

The Russian Tsar and the Kings of Prussia, Denmark, Bavaria and Wurttemberg all resided as special guests in the Hofburg Palace in the heart of Vienna. 170 new imperial carriages were built just for the occasion, while thousands of sumptuous new uniforms were manufactured to clothe an expanded imperial staff.

Treaty of Vienna of 1815 was brought up with the object of undoing most of the changes that had come about in Europe during the Napoleonic wars. 

Every night, hundreds of guests ate at the Emperor’s expense. There were nightly dinners and soirées, frequent masked balls, and a series of spectacular special events, such as a costumed medieval joust in the Spanish Riding School and a giant sleigh ride to the Palace of Schönbrunn on the outskirts of the city. These festivities didn’t continue just for days—they went on for months and months.

The Bourbon dynasty, which had been deposed during the French Revolution, was restored to powerFrance lost the territories it had annexed under Napoleon. 

The Congress of Vienna promoted principles of peace.

A series of states were set up on the boundaries of France to prevent French expansion in future. The kingdom of the Netherlands, which included Belgium, was set up in the north and Genoa was added to Piedmont in the south.

First and foremost, the Congress statesmen desired a territorial settlement that would preserve the peace. Since they saw the greatest threat to Europe as coming from France, they surrounded her with a series of buffer states: Belgium was united with the Netherlands to the northeast; the Italian state of Piedmont was given control of Genoa to the south; and Prussia was awarded the Rhineland to the west

Prussia was given important new territories on its western frontiers, while Austria was given control of northern Italy.

. All the states of Europe were invited to sign the Vienna “Final Act,” making it the cornerstone of public law in Europe. No war between any of the great powers occurred for the next 40 years, until the Crimean War, and no major war on the scale of the Napoleonic Wars took place until the outbreak of World War I a century later.

But the German confederation of 39 states that had been set up by Napoleon was left untouched. In the east, Russia was given part of Poland while Prussia was given a portion of Saxony.

The Congress participants provided an example of compromise rather than war.

To achieve this spectacular success, the diplomats at Vienna chose the path of negotiation over confrontation. It was the first time that heads of state and their chief ministers had personally attended such a peace conference, and they set the tone by reaching a series of astute compromises rather than coming to blows, even over the issues where they most disagreed, such as the reconstruction of Central Europe.

The Congress settlement helped Europeans to enjoy their greatest economic progress in history.

by Mark Jarrett
Mark Jarrett is the author of “The Congress of Vienna and its Legacy” (London: I.B. Tauris, 2014) and will be a speaker at the forthcoming conference at the European Institute of Columbia University this February 5 and 6, “The Congress of Vienna, 1814-1815: Making Peace after Global War