Early life
Klemens Metternich was born into theMarriage and the Congress of Rastatt
In England, he met the King on several occasions and dined with a number of influential British politicians, including William Pitt,Ambassador
Dresden and Berlin
The Holy Roman Empire's defeat in theParis
Foreign Minister
Détente with France
Now back in Austria, Metternich witnessed first hand the Austrian army's defeat at theAs France's ally
As a neutral
Metternich was much less keen on turning against France than many of his contemporaries (though not the Emperor), and he favoured his own plans for a general settlement. In November 1813 he offered Napoleon the Frankfurt proposals, which would allow Napoleon to remain Emperor but would reduce France to its "natural frontiers" and undo its control of most of Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands. Napoleon, expecting to win the war, delayed too long and lost this opportunity; by December the Allies had withdrawn the offer. By early 1814, as they were closing in on Paris, Napoleon agreed to the Frankfurt proposals, too late, and he rejected the new, harsher terms then proposed. Nevertheless, the Allies were not faring well, and although a statement of general war aims that included many nods to Austria was secured from Russia, Britain remained distrustful and generally unwilling to give up the military initiative she had fought 20 years to establish. Despite this, Francis created the Austrian Foreign MinisterAs a coalition partner
Austria's allies saw the declaration as an admission that Austria's diplomatic ambitions had failed, but Metternich viewed it as one move in a much longer campaign. For the rest of the war he strove to hold the Coalition together and, as such, to curb Russian momentum in Europe. To this end he won an early victory as an Austrian general, the Prince of Schwarzenberg, was confirmed supreme commander of the Coalition forces rather thanCongress of Vienna
Paris and Italy
Aachen, Teplice, Karlsbad, Troppau and Laibach
Chancellor
Hanover, Verona, and Czernowitz
Hungarian Diets, Alexander I's death, and problems in Italy
Eastern Question revisited and peace in Europe
Revolution
Exile, return, and death
After an anxious journey of nine days during which they were honoured in some towns and refused entry to others, Metternich, his wife, and son Richard arrived in the Dutch city ofHistorians' assessment
the mass of Europeans yearned for security, quiet, and peace, and regarded liberal abstractions as repugnant or were utterly indifferent to them. The best of all patterns of government, he insisted, was autocratic absolutism, upheld by a loyal army, by a submissive, decently efficient bureaucracy and police machine, and by trustworthy churchmen.Particularly during the remainder of the nineteenth century, Metternich was heavily criticised, decried as the man who prevented Austria and the rest of central Europe from "developing along normal liberal and constitutional lines". Had Metternich not stood in the way of "progress", Austria might have reformed, dealt better with its problems of nationality, and the
Issue
Metternich's children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren are (names are untranslated):Honours and arms
Honours
Arms
Other honours
See also
* Metternich StelaNotes
References
Bibliography
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *Primary Sources
* Walker, Mack, edFurther reading
* * Šedivý, Miroslav. ''Metternich, the Great Powers and the Eastern Question'' (Pilsen: University of West Bohemia Press, 2013) major scholarly study 1032pp * Siemann, Wolfram. ''Metternich: Strategist and Visionary'' (Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2019). A major scholarly work presenting Metternich as a thwarted innovator in the national industrial policy.External links
*