Revolution 1848

Revolution of 1848: From 1815 Austrian internal politics were adversely affected by the rigid conservatism of Metternich ("System Metternich"), who defended monarchic Absolutism and fought liberal and national tendencies with unyielding police action and strict censorship. State finances had been weakened by the Napoleonic Wars, the government, particularly under Ferdinand I, whose decisions were taken for him by a generally divided "Secret State Conference", was in a constant state of crisis. The largely depoliticised middle class of the Biedermeier period had resigned itself to the situation; the critical literature of the Vormärz was dominated by a feeling of resignation (F. Grillparzer, A. Grün, E. Bauernfeld, J. Nestroy, M. Hartmann, S. Brunner, S. Frankl). Although Austria had hardly been affected by the French Revolution of July 1830, Metternich´s influence began to weaken after 1840.

Life for the farmers, small craftsmen and the emerging group of industrial workers was very difficult. Wages (for an average 14 hours of work per day) were low, child labour was common. Mechanisation was carried out fast but regardless of the existing structures, causing mass unemployment and demonstrations by the hungry masses. Despite the Vassal Patent of Joseph II (1781) the peasants were still burdened with tithe and soccage; Galicia saw the first bloody peasants´ revolt in 1846.

Other parts of society had also become discontent with their situation. The liberal middle class and the intelligentsia, mainly the students, together with booksellers, printers and type-setters became the real protagonists of the middle-class revolution. The nature of their main demands was more political than social and they called for an end to absolutism rather than for the abolition of the monarchy.

Another important factor was the rise of nationalism. In the uprisings of 1848 Italians and Hungarians went so far as to call for the overthrow of the Habsburg dynasty and for the establishment of independent national states; the Polish thought along similar lines.

In view of the demands for a democratic constitution, Austria was severely shaken by the French Revolution of February 1848. On January 1 and 2 the Italian provinces had experienced bloody riots ("cigar riots") and Austria declared a state of war in Lombardy. On March 3 L. Kossuth, leader of the Hungarian opposition, delivered his "Taufrede der österreichischen Revolution" ("Baptismal speech" of the Austrian Revolution) in the Hungarian Imperial Diet in Bratislava, in which he demanded a modern constitution for Hungary. On March 13 the March Revolution broke out in Vienna, leading to the overthrow of Metternich. In Upper Austria, Styria, Tirol and Moravia the Diets became very active; new municipal regulations and the relief of service to the lords were their major improvements; apart from that, the Revolution in the German-speaking part of Austria concentrated on Vienna. Only Styria saw the rise of radical circles, and in October Vienna received some support from those groups.

On March 17 and 18 revolts, supported by Sardinia, hit Venice and Milan. J. W. Radetzky consequently left Milan. In Vienna the state conference was replaced by a Temporary State Ministry under F. A. Kolowrat-Liebsteinsky; the court authorities were replaced by ministries. On April 25 the Pillersdorf Constitution was passed, but was met with heavy criticism. On March 23 Hungary had received a liberal ministry, on April 11 its own constitution. The demands of Czech and aristocratic circles, based on a special "Bohemian state legislation" were only partly fulfilled. On April 26 a Polish uprising was suppressed in Krakow. After Radetzky´s victory at Santa Lucia (May 6) in the Sardinian War, Austrian sovereignty was restored in Italy. At the same time Slovaks, Romanians and Serbs in the Banat revolted against the centralist tendencies of the Hungarian government.

The German-speaking middle class, afraid of losing its standing because of the demands for freedom by the other nations, welcomed the victories of the imperial army and turned to Germany for support, a country which was also experiencing a revolution of the middle classes (Frankfurter Nationalversammlung). German-speaking Austrians fought in the revolution under pan-German slogans and black-red-gold flags, the symbol not only of German unity, but also of freedom and progress.

The next stage of the revolution was introduced on May 15 by new riots in Vienna. In the Vienna Hofburg palace the national guard, students and workers presented a "Sturmpetition" calling for the withdrawal of the Imposed Constitution of April 25 and for the assembly of a constituent Imperial Diet with deputies elected in general, direct and free elections. After some street fighting, these demands were met in the night of May 15. Emperor Ferdinand I and the imperial family fled to Innsbruck on May 17. Student riots resulted in the closure of the university on May 24 and led to renewed barricade fighting on May 26 in Vienna, triggered by the planned abolition of the Akademische Legion. The government had to allow the formation of the legion and of a security committee consisting of citizens, national guard members and students. After the retreat of the army, the committee became one of the centres of power in Vienna for a short time. The "workers´ committee", set up under the student A. Willner, succeeded in pushing through their demands for social improvement (10-hour working days, higher wages, foundation of the "First Austrian Workers´ Association", etc.).

The situation in Prague also became more and more precarious: on the one hand, conservative bureaucrats tried to exploit the upheavals in Vienna to strengthen the position of Bohemia within the monarchy. On the other hand, Czech and German-speaking revolutionaries took to the weapons in the Prague "Pfingstaufstand" (Whitsun revolt); their revolt was bloodily suppressed by the army under A. Windisch-Graetz. In retrospect this action can be regarded as the beginning of a new upsurge of the restorative forces in Austria.

On June 26, Archduke Johann came to Vienna as the representative of the emperor but could not accomplish his mission because of his appointment to the position of "Reichsverweser" ("temporary regent") to Frankfurt. On July 8 he put the formation of a largely democratically-minded ministry into the hands of A. Doblhoff-Dier and opened the constituent assembly of the Imperial Diet on July 23. On July 26, within the Imperial Diet, H. Kudlich called for the relief of the peasants from their feudal burdens, which had in fact already been promised. It was granted on September 7 and sanctioned by the emperor. This important social improvement caused the peasants, who had been only marginally involved in the revolution, to profess their loyalty to the crown. Austria also regained its sovereignty in Italy when Radetzky defeated the Sardinian troops at Custozza (July 25) and recovered Lombardy. On August 12 the imperial court returned to Vienna.

From August 21 to August 24 Vienna was once again hit by a revolt because the wages for female and young navvies had been lowered. The city guard managed to restore public peace without military intervention, but 22 people were killed and more than 300 wounded. After this revolt (known s the "Praterschlacht"), the security committee dissolved itself. Other industrial centres were also hit by workers´ riots. Even in Hungary, agricultural workers took to the streets. At the same time the Imperial Diet continued its debate on the framing of a constitution, but it departed more and more from the monarchic principle, which was slowly regaining ground. The precarious situation in Hungary also affected Austria and led to new fights in Vienna on October 6. The revolution culminated in the Oktoberrevolution in Vienna. It was, however, put down. The revolutionary impetus had been quelled, even though constitutional demands which had resulted from the revolution continued to persist for some time. The Imperial Diet convened in Kremsier, where debates on the elaboration of a constitution continued in winter 1848/49 and were almost concluded (Kremsier, Reichstag of). On March 7, 1849 the Imperial Diet was dissolved. Emperor Franz Joseph I, who had acceded to the throne after his uncle Ferdinand I´s abdication on December 2, imposed a new, centralist constitution, based on the monarchic principle. The dissolution of the Imperial Diet did not give rise to any major revolutionary actions. Only Prague saw some unrest in May 1849, however, this did not spread and was quickly put down. The revolution in Austria finally ended with the capitulation in Hungary and Venice in August and September 1849.

The revolution was characterised by the lack of a programmatic concept and the absence of systematic leadership and of personalities who were capable of defending the rights and freedoms which had been achieved. All these factors finally caused the revolution to fail. Furthermore, the liberal circles in the middle class and the peasants soon dissociated themselves from the revolutionary mass in Vienna. The revolution did, however, pave the way for a change in the constitution, and after a period of Neo-absolutism the Habsburg monarchy was given a new constitution in the 1860s. The most important immediate result of the revolution was the emancipation of the Peasants, followed by the creation of a homogeneous society of citizens, including all parts of the population. It also led to the abolition of feudal structures, combined with the modernisation of administration in the municipalities, district authorities and a national court system.

Literature: A. Novotny, 1848, 1948; R. Kißling, Die Revolution 1848 im Kaisertum Österreich, 1948; M. T. Wanderer, Revolutionsstürme Achtundvierzig, 1948; W. Pollak, 1848 - Revolution auf halbem Weg, 1974; W. Häusler, Von der Massenarmut zur Arbeiterbewegung, 1979; P. Urbanitsch, 1848/49: Ende und Anfang, in: H. Kudlich und die Bauernbefreiung in Niederösterreich, 1983.