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" or "Imperial Diet" 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 **Ger ...

), or Kremsier Parliament (Assembly at Kroměříž), 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 The Kremsier Constitution or Kremsier Draft (German: ' or ') was a draft constitution of the Austrian Empire drafted by the Kremsier Parliament from October 1848 to early March 1849. The Kremsier Parliament had moved from Vienna to Kremsier after ...

which was preempted by the imposed March Constitution. Formed after the March Revolution of 1848 and in reaction to opposition to the Pillersdorf Constitution of 25 April 1848. The Diet consisted of 383 deputies from the German-speaking and Slavic crown lands of the

Habsburg Austria The term Habsburg Austria may refer to the lands ruled by the Austrian branch of the Habsburgs, or the historical Austria. Depending on the context, it may be defined as: * The Duchy of Austria, after 1453 the Archduchy of Austria * The ''Erbland ...

, 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 structur ...

Historical background

The Kremsier Parliament had been elected in June, and convened in July in reaction to the Pillersdorf Constitution 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 me ...

, to avoid martial law in Vienna following the

. 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 The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...

. In the first week of March 1849, the

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 Au ...

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 Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

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 its na ...

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.

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 I of Austria, Franz Joseph on 20 October 1860. The Diploma was written by the Minister of Interior, Agenor Gołuchowski (senior), Agenor Gołucho ...

of 1860, but this would have required ratification by the various state legislatures of the

, which was not forthcoming. After the adoption of the February Patent in 1861, another attempt was made to elect a general representative body for the people, mainly from Prime Minister Anton von Schmerling. 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.

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