Introduction:

The Congress of Vienna marks the end of a quarter-century that had experienced an unprecedented change in the European political map, with the French Revolution, the revolutionary wars and the rule of Napoleon. The old balance of forces established after the Peace of Westphalia had caved in, and with it the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, as well as most of its territories. After the Battle of the Nations at Leipzig (16-18 October 1813), the Napoleonic hegemonic system collapsed throughout Europe. French satellite states dissolved, dynasties once dispersed by Napoleon were reinstated, and old power relations reemerged. The allies aimed to restore independence to all European - including German - states, and to unite the latter in a re-established empire. In order to undertake this definitive reorganization of Europe, rulers and diplomats of almost every state of the continent met in a general convention in Vienna from October 1814 until June 1815. Representatives of more than 200 states, ruling houses, corporations and cities took part, among them all the major European nations with the exception of the Ottoman Empire. The five great powers, the Russian Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Austrian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and also the reinstated monarchy of France played the leading roles. Behind the façade of celebration, hard political power struggles took place, often involving open conflict among the partners of the anti-Napoleonic coalition. One important result for the German states was the German Confederation, this covenant, a part of a European peace order, was made at 8 June 1815 and it still existed until 1866.