The
Austrian
Austrian may refer to:
* Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent
** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law
* Austrian German dialect
* Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...
Reichstag ("National
Diet
Diet may refer to:
Food
* Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group
* Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake
** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...
" or "Imperial
Diet
Diet may refer to:
Food
* Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group
* Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake
** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...
" in
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
), or Kremsier Parliament (Assembly at
Kroměříž
Kroměříž (; german: Kremsier) is a town in the Zlín Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 28,000 inhabitants. It is known for the Kroměříž Castle with castle gardens, which are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The town centre with the ...
), was the first elected parliament in the
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence ...
. It lasted for only a short time between July 1848 and 7 March 1849, but had an important effect on Austrian history. Its main product was the
Kremsier Constitution which was preempted by the imposed
March Constitution.
Formed after the
March Revolution of 1848 and in reaction to opposition to the
Pillersdorf Constitution The Pillersdorf Constitution (German: ') was a constitution of the Austrian Empire that was promulgated by Minister of the Interior Baron Pillersdorf on 25 April 1848. It called for public, oral, and jury trials.
It only lasted until 16 May when ...
of 25 April 1848. The Diet consisted of 383 deputies from the German-speaking and Slavic crown lands of the
Habsburg Austria, that is, without a representative of the
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...
. It met for the first time on 22 July 1848 and was opened by
Archduke Johann. On 22 October 1848, in the wake of the
Vienna Uprising
The Vienna Uprising or October Revolution (german: Wiener Oktoberaufstand, or ) of October 1848 was the last uprising in the Austrian Revolution of 1848.
On 6 October 1848, as the troops of the Austrian Empire were preparing to leave Vienna to s ...
, it relocated to
Kremsier and was finally dissolved on 7 March 1849. Its most important work was the abolition of the
feudal system
Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structu ...
.
Historical background
The Kremsier Parliament had been
elected in June, and convened in July in reaction to the
Pillersdorf Constitution The Pillersdorf Constitution (German: ') was a constitution of the Austrian Empire that was promulgated by Minister of the Interior Baron Pillersdorf on 25 April 1848. It called for public, oral, and jury trials.
It only lasted until 16 May when ...
of 25 April 1848. The Kremsier Parliament formerly convened in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
but later resided in
Kremsier,
Moravia
Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia.
The m ...
, to avoid martial law in Vienna following the
Vienna Uprising
The Vienna Uprising or October Revolution (german: Wiener Oktoberaufstand, or ) of October 1848 was the last uprising in the Austrian Revolution of 1848.
On 6 October 1848, as the troops of the Austrian Empire were preparing to leave Vienna to s ...
. Following the popular trend in Europe during the
Revolutions of 1848
The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europea ...
, in October 1848 workers rioted in Vienna for a constitutional monarchy and blockaded the troop transports headed for Hungary. The workers hoped that siding with the Hungarian rebellion would bring military strength to the Viennese workers revolt. However, the revolt failed when
General Windisch-Grätz surrounded the city and violently crushed the workers. With Vienna under martial law, the Assembly decided to move to Kremsier to write the new constitution.
The Kremsier Assembly
The overarching theme of the Assembly's deliberations was the vast array of conflicting nationalities living under the
Habsburg monarchy. In the first week of March 1849, the
Kremsier Constitution was completed. It featured many liberal and progressive reforms including forming a constitutional monarchy, creating a parliament that would share power with the Emperor, abolishing the privileged status and all titles of the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
within the Empire, deriving the Emperor's power from the people rather than the "Grace of God,"
[J.A.S. Grenville, "Europe Reshaped 1848-1878" Second Edition (Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell, 2000) 110. ] and finally, making all languages and nationalities equal in the eyes of the Monarchy.
[Robert Okey, "The Habsburg Monarchy c. 1765-1918" (New York: St. Martin's Press, 2001) 200. ] The Kremsier Constitution was short-lived, however, with Prime Minister
Felix Schwarzenberg
Felix Ludwig Johann Friedrich, Prince of Schwarzenberg (german: Felix Ludwig Johann Friedrich Prinz zu Schwarzenberg; cs, Felix Ludvík Jan Bedřich princ ze Schwarzenbergu; 2 October 1800 – 5 April 1852) was a Bohemian nobleman and an A ...
dissolving the Assembly and nullifying the constitution within days of completing the document (sometime between 4 March 1849 and 6 March 1849 depending on source used).
Critique of the Assembly
Edward Crankshaw raises three major critiques of the Kremsier Assembly in his book, ''The Fall of the House of Habsburg''. First, the constitution claimed that all political power was derived from the people yet it called for a central authority.
[Edward Crankshaw, "The Fall of the House of Habsburg." (New York: Penguin Books, 1963) 63.] Could anyone have honestly thought a Habsburg Emperor with central authority vested in him would have been an ideological proponent of and see himself as an extension of a Rousseauan "will of the people"? Is it even possible to understand one's subjects if they come from thirteen major ethnicities? Second, the Assembly had zero representatives from
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...
since the region was in revolt, thus all Hungarian issues were completely ignored. Third, the Assembly failed to take into account the larger picture, meaning there was no acknowledgement of the
Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...
Assembly's attempts to create a unified Germany (including the German states within Austria) and there was no realization that the Prime Minister, Schwarzenberg, was drawn to the
Frankfurt Assembly
The Frankfurt Parliament (german: Frankfurter Nationalversammlung, literally ''Frankfurt National Assembly'') was the first freely elected parliament for all German states, including the German-populated areas of Austria-Hungary, elected on 1 Ma ...
.
Reaction to the Kremsier Constitution
Following the dissolution of the Assembly, Schwarzenberg had his own constitution drawn up. The new constitution saved only one significant piece of the Kremsier Constitution: vernaculars were now permissible at the local levels for all non-political discussion. Besides this stripped version of an article in the Kremsier Constitution, four major points were drawn up in the new constitution: 1) the Emperor was given absolute authority in dealing with the military and foreign policy. 2) Parliament would meet once a year but the Emperor had the power to dismiss them and veto all legislation Parliament passed, effectively turning Parliament into a bicameral debate society. 3) the Emperor was equipped with an advisory council of his choosing. 4) German was the official language of the Empire for politics, education, and administration and the Empire was united under one crown, one constitution, and one parliament.
As one can see, the progressive movement of the Kremsier Parliament created a devastating backlash against the growing national identities of the Empire. The Empire was now tightly controlled in a neo-absolutist regime with a hostile attitude towards nationalist tendencies.
1860s
The concept of a Reichstag as representative body of the Austrian people turned up again in the
October Diploma
The October Diploma was a constitution of the Austrian Empire adopted by Habsburg Emperor Franz Joseph on 20 October 1860. The Diploma was written by the Minister of Interior, Agenor Gołuchowski. It attempted to increase the power of the conserv ...
of 1860, but this would have required ratification by the various state legislatures of the
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence ...
, which was not forthcoming.
After the adoption of the
February Patent
The February Patent was a constitution of the Austrian Empire promulgated in the form of letters patent on 26 February 1861.
Background
In the Austrian Empire, the early 1860s were a period of significant constitutional reforms. The revolutions ...
in 1861, another attempt was made to elect a general representative body for the people, mainly from Prime Minister
Anton von Schmerling
Anton Ritter von Schmerling (23 August 180523 May 1893) was an Austrian statesman.
Life
Von Schmerling was born in Vienna, where his father held a high position on the judicial side of the civil service.
After studying law at Vienna, in 1829 Sch ...
. This, too, failed due to opposition from the Hungarian and Italian, and subsequently, Czech lands of the empire. A rump parliament did serve in a temporary wooden building in the Schmerling Theater in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
. This Parliament was named the Reichsrat ("Imperial Council" in German), because Emperor
Francis Joseph I
Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his ...
wanted it to serve in only a consultative role. Finally a formalized
Reichsrat was created in 1867 and associated with the new constitution of
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
on an institutional basis.
See also
*
Imperial Council (Austria)
The Imperial Council (german: Reichsrat; cs, Říšská rada, links=yes; pl, Rada Państwa, links=yes; it, Consiglio Imperiale, links=yes; sl, Državni zbor, links=yes; uk, Райхсрат, Державна рада, links=yes; bs, Carevins ...
, 1867–1918
*
Giovanni Battista Spangher
Johann Spangher (Villesse, 24 May 1802 – Villesse, 29 July 1852) was an Italian politician, judge and irredentist.
Biography
G.B Spangher was born in Villesse, a small town near Gorizia, from G.B. Spangar and from Vecchi Pasqua. The family wa ...
References
{{reflist
Literature
*G. Kolmer: ''Parliament and the Constitution in Austria'', Volume 1, 1920.
*W. Braun Eder: ''Austrian Constitutional History'', 11th Edition, 2009.
*Andreas Gottsmann: ''The Diet of Kromeriz and the Government Schwarzenberg''. The constitutional debate of 1848 between the poles of the national question and response. (Wien: Verl. 1995)
Austrian Parliament
1848 establishments in the Austrian Empire
1849 disestablishments in the Austrian Empire
Austrian Empire
Historical legislatures
Kroměříž District