Vormärz

Vormärz(German pronunciation:[ˈfoːɐ̯ˌmɛʁts]^ⓘ;English:pre-March) was a period in the history of Germany preceding the 1848March Revolutionin the states of theGerman Confederation.The beginning of the period is less well-defined. Some place the starting point directly after the fall of Napoleon and the establishment of the German Confederation in 1815. Others, typically those who emphasise theVormärzas a period of political uprising, place the beginning at theFrench July Revolution of 1830.

Internationally known as theAge of Metternich,within Germany it was characterized by the dominance ofAustriaandPrussiawithin theGerman Confederation.Both Austria and Prussia established repressiveabsolutist police statesdomestically, and pressured other German states to do the same. These authoritarian regimes practicedcensorshipandmass surveillanceon an unprecedented scale in response to even moderatereformistcalls forliberalism,constitutional monarchy,andGerman unification,as well as moreradical,revolutionary calls forrepublicanismanduniversal suffrage.

Culturally, this period is known as theBiedermeierera. As such it is seen as a conclusion of theRomanticistera.

Background

UponNapoleon's final defeat at theBattle of Waterloo,the European powers, led by the Austrian state chancellor PrinceKlemens von MetternichandBritishforeign secretary LordCastlereagh,implemented theConservative Order,thereby reversing the massive changes brought by theFrench Revolution,with the aim of recreating the pre-revolutionarybalance of power.Against thenationalistandliberaltendencies among the Germanbourgeoisiethat had risen during theNapoleonic Wars,theGerman Confederationwas established as a successor of the shatteredHoly Roman Empire,likewise not anation statebut a loose association of the Germanprinces,who agreed on suppressing such political activities of their subjects—a scheme that ultimately failed. After the "French period"in large German territories including theRhineland,the implementation of theNapoleonic Code,and thePrussian reforms,the movement towards aconstitutionand aparliamentary systemcould be delayed, but not reversed.

Demonstrations grew increasingly visible and strident. Having founded one of the first nationalUrburschenschaftencirca 1815, the students ofJenaopenly demonstrated at theWartburg Festival,demanding a national pan-German state founded on a liberal constitution. When the 1819 assassination ofAugust von Kotzebueby student activistKarl Ludwig Sandcreated appropriate pretext, theBundesversammlungresponded to the growing influence of theBurschenschaftenby issuing theCarlsbad Decrees,which censored the press, curtailed academic study of liberalism, and restricted public discussion of such ideas as national unity and wider suffrage.

Though many activists likeErnst Moritz Arndt,Hoffmann von Fallersleben,Hans Ferdinand Massmann,Georg Büchner,Fritz Reuter,Friedrich Ludwig Jahn,Carl Theodor WelckerandFriedrich Gottlieb Welckerwere arrested or retired into private life, liberal ideals enjoyed resurgence in the FrenchJuly Revolutionof 1830, which was followed by insurrections in the Prussian capital,Berlin,and in the German states ofSaxony,Hanover,Hesse,andBrunswick.That same year, as theNovember UprisinginCongress Polandfailed and the consequent emigration of many Polish insurgents began, popular German support for liberalism grew; at theHambach Festivalof 1832, which was a culminating point of the national, liberal, and democratic movement, thenational colours of Germanyand thePolish flagwere raised together. After theGreater Poland Uprisingof 1846, the trial against the insurgents aroundLudwik Mierosławskiat the BerlinKammergerichtgained large interest, and the defendants had to be pardoned by KingFrederick William IV of Prussiaduring the March revolution due to public pressure. However, the liberal and democratic movement included a strong nationalistic element from the beginning, predominantly against the French "hereditary enemy".

The states of the German Confederation reacted by increased suppression. In the failedFrankfurter Wachensturm,an attempt to storm theBundesversammlungassembly of the princes' delegates, theFree City of Frankfurtwas occupied by Austrian and Prussian troops. Many participants were sentenced forhigh treason;others likeGustav KörnerandFerdinand Lindheimerfled from Germany, mostly to theUnited States.On the other hand, the establishment of the Prussian-dominatedZollvereincustoms union, though formed to address economic concerns, was widely seen by national-liberal circles as a decisive step towards a (Lesser) German unification. In 1837 theGöttingen Sevenprofessors were dismissed for their protest against the abolition of the Hanover constitution.

The succession of the mentally handicappedFerdinand Ito the throne in 1835 made it possible for Metternich to have responsibility of the internal and external affairs of the Austrian Empire. Nationalism and the social developments in the empire created more tensions that would eventually erupt in the form of the March 1848 revolution. The emerging working class was looked at as a political problem, rather than a social one. The rise of liberalism would eventually be the downfall for Metternich and Ferdinand. Liberal ideals were coming from the upper aristocracy and the middle classes. The dissent of the middle class was extremely evident. InHungary,the 1836-39Dietsaw few gains made, though these were significant to the peasant class. Along with the abolition of serfdom in Hungary, it no longer was a question of class but of the national position and the right of the authority of Vienna. The conflicting ideas would eventually come to a head in theMarch 1848revolution.

Musically, the Vormärz spanned during the end of theClassicalperiod and the beginning of theRomanticperiod.Ludwig van Beethovenlead the way during the composers late period. He wrote monumental works like theMissa solemnisand hisSymphony No. 9.Franz Schubertanother transitional composer wrote over 600 lieder including two famous song cycles;WinterreiseandDie schöne Müllerin.Thewaltzwas the most popular dance craze in Europe with composers likeJoseph LannerandJohann Strauss Iwriting the most celebrated waltzes. Other notable composers from this era includeFelix Mendelssohn,Johann Nepomuk Hummel,Carl Maria von Weber,Franz LisztandRobert Schumann.

Literary movement

Vormärzis also the name of a movement inGerman literatureduring the same time, characterized by an increasing interest by authors in political and social topics, including the growing economic unity of Germany through theZollverein,the topic ofGerman Unificationitself, and expanded malesuffrage.

References

Okey, Robin (2001).The Habsburg Monarchy, C. 1765-1918: From Enlightenment to Eclipse.European studies. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 456.ISBN 978-0-312-23375-4.