The small town of Olomouc in Moravia is the place were the issue of German unity became a sore point in the 19th century between expansionist Prussia and dominant Austria. This article looks at the power-play between the two, how Russia meddled in Europe and the events leading to the Punctation of Olomouc..

Background

The treaty of Paris in 1814 ended the Napoleonic wars. After this, ambassadors met for the Congress of Vienna to create a European peace plan¹.

I’ve written about this treaty because this was how the British kept control of the Maltese islands.

This Congress was the first attempt to create a consensus-based international order². This approach was rare in European history.

One result of this Congress was the German Confederation³. This was an association of 39 German speaking states. They wanted to coordinate their economies^{3 4}. This confederation replaced the Holy Roman Empire which had dissolved in 1806³ and one of these states was the Kingdom of Bohemia.

From the beginning there was tension between Prussia and Austria⁵. Both wanted to be the German state that led all the others⁵.

As in any organisation, having two powerful rivals at the top wasn’t going to help anyone.

The 1848 revolutions

In 1848 a widespread wave of revolutions took place around Europe. In the confederation one call was for pan-Germanism and the creation of a single German state. On 1 May 1848 revolutionaries elected the first Parliament for the German states^{4 5}. These revolutionaries were unlike the working-class revolutionaries in other countries, like France. They were educated and respected members of their communities^{4 5 6}. In other words, this revolution was not fuelled by class hatred.

I’ve written about the 1848 revolution in Prague – the Pentecost Uprising.

The Parliament issued a Constitution based on parliamentary democracy and basic rights^{4 7}. This constitution was later used as the basis of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949³.

The Erfurt Union

The Parliament collapsed when King Frederick William IV refused the crown and title of German Emperor^{4 5}.

Prussia sensed an opportunity. Austria was busy reconquering Hungary and defending itself in Italy at the time⁵. It adopted a policy of asserting itself against Prussia, but didn’t defend itself against Prussian domination⁵. The other states owed their existence to Prussian armed support. This meant Prussia was in a unique position to call the shots⁵.

Prussia proposed a federation of German states called the Erfurter Union^{8 9}. It wasn’t well received⁸. Under heavy Prussian pressure, 28 states recognised it but were not happy with it⁸. They boycotted the first elections and with less than 50% participation, its Parliament had no legitimacy⁸. 

What Prussia had not realised was that the German Princes were not united in favour of a German nation, but were united in their fear of Prussia in the absence of Austria⁵.

When Austria sorted out its own problems in Italy it renewed its anti-Prussian stance⁵. Austria was keen to return to the German confederation and to make sure they dominated it⁵.  On 1 September 1849, Austria unilaterally declared the revival of the German Confederation⁷.

Austria had allied itself with the Russians, which was against any German unification. Tsar Nicholas joined forces with Austria because he wanted to avoid a strong Prussia⁵.

On 5 November 1850 the Prussians mobilised troops in Bavaria to intervene in an internal matter^{5 7}. Austria moved troops into Bohemia to counter this move^{5 7}. It’s likely Austria wanted war to solve the matter once and for all. Russia forbade this – it didn’t want an Austrian-dominated Germany as much as it didn’t want a Prussian-dominated Germany^{5 7}. Prussian nobility also saw a war was unwise and supported Austria’s call for a return to the German confederation⁵.

The Punctation of Olomouc

On 29 November 1850, Prussia and Austria sat together in Olomouc in Moravia to sign a preliminary contract to reanimate the German Confederation. This preliminary contract is known as the Punctation of Olomouc^{5 7}. In Prussia, this was reported – and called – the humiliation of Olomouc^{5 7}. After this, Prussia gave up on the idea of a German union⁹ until 1867.

This little town was where German-speaking and German-controlled states decided their own future.

Share this article with someone who is fascinated with European history!

References

1. The Congress of Vienna 1814-1815; Tim Chapman; Routledge; Nov 22, 2006[↩]
2. The Congress of Vienna 1814-1815; Tim Chapman; Routledge; Nov 22, 2006[↩]
3. Constitutional history of Germany; ConstitutionNET; (Retrieved 2019-09-17) [↩][↩][↩][↩]
4. Frankfurt National Assembly; Encyclopaedia Britannica; 2014-05-19[↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
5. The course of German history, a survey of the development of Germany since 1815; A. J. P Taylor; H Hamilton, London; 1945[↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
6. The Frankfurt Parliament, 1848-1849; Frank Eyck; Academy of Political Science; 1970[↩]
7. A History of Modern Europe: From the French Revolution to the Present; Merriman, John, (Retrieved 2019-09-17) [↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
8. Erfurter Union; James Chastain; Encyclopaedia of 1848 revolutions; 2004[↩][↩][↩][↩]
9. Germans, Germany and Unification before Bismarck; Dr Bruce Waller; 1998-09[↩][↩]

Remember: links were correct at time of publication.