<< Chapter < Page Chapter >> Page >

But Germany of this century was not all politics, industry, army and navy. F.W.A. Sertuerner isolated morphine as a pure alkaloid in 1806; Robert Koch established the bacterial cause of anthrax and tuberculosis; Rudolf Virchow (1821-1902) was called the "Pope" of medicine in Europe. He wrote on leukemia, thrombosis, embolism and phlebitis as well as delving into multiple scientific and social fields. At the end of the century German speaking countries (and we must include Austria in this) had the leadership in medicine. In the period of 1815 to 1840 alone, there were great men in literature, music, education, scholarship, philosophy and science, as well. The University of Berlin was founded in 1811. Some of the more famous names of the era include Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Goethe and Schopenhouer. (Ref. 177 , 184 , 8 , 211 , 125 )

Austria (part of the austro-hungarian empire)

Austria was invaded by Napoleon while Great Britain, Russia, Austria and Sweden were forming an alliance, along with Prussia, to contain him. This alliance was the so-called "Third Coalition". The Austrians suffered a defeat at Ulm; Napoleon entered Vienna and then annihilated the Austrians and Russians together in the Battle of Austerlitz in Moravia in late 1805. In the Peace of Pressburg on December 26, 1805 Austria ceded all claims to her Italian and south German territories and dropped from her status as a world power

This comment was taken from the German historian, Reinhart (Ref. 177 , but according to the Austrian historian, Rickett (Ref. 181 ), the true glory of Austria was yet to unfold, as we shall see
. Emperor Franz (Francis) had to give up his title of Holy Roman Emperor and thereafter the Habsburgs were emperors of Austria and Hungary only. Napoleon reentered Vienna, took up residence in Schoenbrunn Palace and continued to dismember Austria. It was in this desperate situation that Klemens Lothar Metternich, Austrian ambassador to Paris, returned to be imperial chancellor. To understand this complex, capable man, who has strong admirers and vicious detractors among the historians, will require some additional details.

Basically Metternich was probably the greatest diplomat of his time, the French Talleyrand not withstanding. He arranged a marriage of Princess Marie Louise to Napoleon, contributed a small Austrian contingent to Napoleon's disastrous Moscow expedition of 1812, thus gaining an armistice from the French emperor allowing some breathing room to reform his armies. He then offered to mediate peace proposals with France, Prussia and Russia. Bonaparte refused the terms, was defeated by Prussia and Russia at the Battle of Leipzig (1813) and abdicated. It was Metternich's diplomatic victory and the Treaty of Paris, which followed, called for no territorial concession or reparations, but merely arranged for the European Congress in Vienna to be held two months later. That Congress of Vienna of 1815, which included the "big four" of Russia, England, Prussia

The Prussians, who are genetically about half Slavic, registered as a Slav Monarchy. (Ref. 213 )
, and Austria, promptly elected Metternich as president. Amid much pomp, entertainment and back-stage diplomacy, Metternich arranged for Austria to regain much of her old territory in return for giving up Belgium, part of the Netherlands and a few small holdings on the Rhine. Austria gained 4,500,000 people and the undisputed hegemony in Italy. After that Congress, Austria enjoyed her last great time as a prestigious power in Europe, with a period of thirty years of unbroken peace.

Get Jobilize Job Search Mobile App in your pocket Now!

Get it on Google Play Download on the App Store Now




Source:  OpenStax, A comprehensive outline of world history. OpenStax CNX. Nov 30, 2009 Download for free at http://cnx.org/content/col10595/1.3
Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google Inc.

Notification Switch

Would you like to follow the 'A comprehensive outline of world history' conversation and receive update notifications?

Ask