The proclamation of the German Empire, also known as the ''Deutsche Reichsgründung'', took place in January 1871 after the joint victory of the German states in the Franco-Prussian War. As a result of the November Treaties of 1870, the southern German states of

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden is ...

Hesse-Darmstadt The Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt (german: Landgrafschaft Hessen-Darmstadt) was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by a younger branch of the House of Hesse. It was formed in 1567 following the division of the Landgraviate of Hesse betwee ...

, with their territories south of the

Main line Mainline, ''Main line'', or ''Main Line'' may refer to: Transportation Railway * Main line (railway), the principal artery of a railway system * Main line railway preservation, the practice of operating preserved trains on an operational railw ...

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Würt ...

and

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

, joined the

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

n-dominated "

German Confederation The German Confederation (german: Deutscher Bund, ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire, w ...

" on 1 January 1871. On the same day, the new

Constitution of the German Confederation The Constitution of the German Confederation or German Federal Act (german: Deutsche Bundesakte) was the constitution enacted the day before the Congress of Vienna's Final Act, which established the German Confederation of 39 states, created fr ...

came into force, thereby significantly extending the federal German lands to the newly created

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

. Karl Kroeschell: ''Deutsche Rechtsgeschichte'', Bd. 3: ''Seit 1650'', 5. Aufl., Böhlau/UTB, Köln/Weimar/Wien 2008, S. 235.Michael Kotulla: ''Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte: Vom Alten Reich bis Weimar (1495–1934)'', 2008, Rn. 2042. Klaus Stern: ''Das Staatsrecht der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Band V: Die geschichtlichen Grundlagen des deutschen Staatsrechts. Die Verfassungsentwicklung vom Alten Deutschen Reich zur wiedervereinigten Bundesrepublik Deutschland.'' C.H. Beck, München 2000, , Rn. 128. The Day of the founding of the German Empire, January 18, became a day of celebration, marking when the Prussian King

William I William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 1087 ...

was proclaimed

German Emperor The German Emperor (german: Deutscher Kaiser, ) was the official title of the head of state and hereditary ruler of the German Empire. A specifically chosen term, it was introduced with the 1 January 1871 constitution and lasted until the offi ...

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

Imperial proclamation in Versailles

Background

Karlsruhe Kaiser-Wilhelm-Denkmal Relief Nord

The question of

German Dualism Austria and Prussia were the most powerful states in the Holy Roman Empire by the 18th and 19th centuries and had engaged in a struggle for supremacy in Germany. The rivalry was characterized by major territorial conflicts and economic, cultural a ...

complicated the alliance of German states after the Napoleonic Wars. Would a united Germany include or exclude Austria? According to the Prussian chancellor

Otto von Bismarck Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (, ; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898), born Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck, was a conservative German statesman and diplomat. From his origins in the upper class of J ...

, any unification was only possible without Austria, since 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 ...

was, in fact, economically and militarily tied not only to the other German language states but also to the Slavic states of the Balkan peninsula. The

Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War, also by many variant names such as Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), (; "German war of brothers") and by a variety of other names, was fought in 186 ...

of 1866 led to the dissolution of the

, founded in 1815 after the Prague Treaty. The result was a system of German alliance under the

hegemonic Hegemony (, , ) is the political, economic, and military predominance of one state over other states. In Ancient Greece (8th BC – AD 6th ), hegemony denoted the politico-military dominance of the ''hegemon'' city-state over other city-states. ...

domination of Prussia. After the Prussian victory at the Battle of Hradec Kralove, and against the wishes of the Habsburgs, Bismarck succeeded in forming the

North German Confederation The North German Confederation (german: Norddeutscher Bund) was initially a German military alliance established in August 1866 under the leadership of the Kingdom of Prussia, which was transformed in the subsequent year into a confederated st ...

as a military alliance in August 1866 without Austria. A year later, the

made a constitution and became a

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

. In 1868, Spanish queen

Isabella II Isabella II ( es, Isabel II; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904), was Queen of Spain from 29 September 1833 until 30 September 1868. Shortly before her birth, the King Ferdinand VII of Spain issued a Pragmatic Sanction to ensure the successi ...

was dethroned in a military coup (

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution; gd, Rèabhlaid Ghlòrmhor; cy, Chwyldro Gogoneddus , also known as the ''Glorieuze Overtocht'' or ''Glorious Crossing'' in the Netherlands, is the sequence of events leading to the deposition of King James II and ...

). Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, supported by

n Prime Minister Bismarck, acted as a

candidate A candidate, or nominee, is the prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position; for example: * to be elected to an office — in this case a candidate selection procedure occurs. * t ...

for royal succession in Spain. Shortly after his candidature was accepted, however, Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, under the influence of his father, Prince

Karl Anton Karl Anton or Karel Anton (25 October 1898 12 April 1979) was a Bohemian-born German film director, screenwriter and film producer. Biography He was born in Prague on 25 October 1898. His father Wilhelm Anton (1861–1918) was a physician. An ...

, and the King of Prussia, proposed

to the throne of Spain because

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

had threatened war with this candidacy. The

Emperor of France Emperor of the French (French: ''Empereur des Français'') was the title of the monarch and supreme ruler of the First and the Second French Empires. Details A title and office used by the House of Bonaparte starting when Napoleon was procla ...

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

, however, did not want to be satisfied with the simple withdrawal of the candidacy, and sent his ambassador,

Vincent Benedetti Vincent, Count Benedetti (29 April 181728 March 1900) was a French diplomat. He is probably best known as one of the central figures in the instigation of the Franco-Prussian War. Life and career Benedetti was born to a family of Greek origin a ...

, to

Bad Ems Bad Ems () is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Rhein-Lahn rural district and is well known as a spa on the river Lahn. Bad Ems is the seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' (administrative community) Ba ...

, to enter negotiations with the King of Prussia. Napoleon demanded an official apology from Prussia and the general renouncement of the Hohenzollern and Sigmaringer to the Spanish throne also for the future, which King did not want to accept. (see:

Ems Dispatch The Ems Dispatch (french: Dépêche d'Ems, german: Emser Depesche), sometimes called the Ems Telegram, was published on 13 July 1870 and incited the Second French Empire to start the Franco-Prussian War and to declare war on the Kingdom of Prus ...

) "But one wanted more: the Prussian government had not yet been revealed, the victory did not yet seem perfect. Benedetti was commissioned to demand William renounce any claim to the throne, and that he would forbid the Sigmaringen family from accepting the Spanish crown." The

French National Assembly The National Assembly (french: link=no, italics=set, Assemblée nationale; ) is the lower house of the bicameral French Parliament under the Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate (). The National Assembly's legislators are known a ...

granted funds for war, and on 19 July 1870, the French Empire declared

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

on the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Re ...

. The southern German states took the side of Prussia in accordance with their defensive alliances. Victories in August and September 1870, over the French armies led to the willingness of the Southern German princes to join the North German Confederation. On 9 and 10 December 1870, the Reichstag voted to offer the Emperor's title to the Prussian king. In addition, the country was to be renamed "German Reich". This became effective on 1 January 1871 with a new constitution. As a day for the imperial proclamation to take place, 18 January was chosen, to coincide with the royal coronation of Frederick III of Brandenburg's coronation as

Frederick I Frederick I may refer to: * Frederick of Utrecht or Frederick I (815/16–834/38), Bishop of Utrecht. * Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine (942–978) * Frederick I, Duke of Swabia (1050–1105) * Frederick I, Count of Zoll ...

of Prussia in 1701, which led to the founding of the Kingdom of

. The 1871 event took place in the

Hall of Mirrors The Hall of Mirrors (french: Grande Galerie, Galerie des Glaces, Galerie de Louis XIV) is a grand Baroque style gallery and one of the most emblematic rooms in the royal Palace of Versailles near Paris, France. The grandiose ensemble of the hal ...

at the Palace of Versailles, the ceiling on which was celebrated by

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...

, the Sun King, as a conqueror of German cities and states. At the time of the imperial proclamation, the French capital Paris was besieged by coalition troops. The seat of the great headquarters of the German armies was Versailles. The Prussian leadership and - at least in part - the leaders of the allies were gathered around Paris.

Proclamation on 18 January 1871

On 18 January 1871, German troops paraded behind military bands around the

Palace of Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 19 ...

. The delegations of the German field-regiments were crowded in this great room. They raised their battle-torn banners in a "colourful forest". In the middle of the hall stood an altar, where participants celebrated a worship service, at the end of which all those present were singing the song ''Nun danket alle Gott'' (

Now thank we all our God "Now thank we all our God" is a popular Christian hymn. Catherine Winkworth translated it from the German "", written by the Lutheran pastor Martin Rinkart. Its hymn tune, Zahn No. 5142, was published by Johann Crüger in the 1647 edition o ...

). At the end of the gallery was an elevated podium, on which Wilhelm I and the various princes stood. Otto von Bismarck read out the proclamation. Thereupon,

Frederick I, Grand Duke of Baden Frederick I (german: Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig; 9 September 1826 – 28 September 1907) was the Grand Duke of Baden from 1858 to 1907. Life Frederick was born in Karlsruhe, Baden, on 9 September 1826. He was the third son of Leopold, Gr ...

; Wilhelm I's only son-in-law shouted "His Majesty, Kaiser Wilhelm", and the other attendants repeated three times. The ceremony ended, although the hurrahs continued outside from the deployed troops. The expression "Kaiser Wilhelm" avoided the precise, constitutional title "German Emperor", which Wilhelm would not accept. The

Grand Duchy of Hesse The Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine (german: link=no, Großherzogtum Hessen und bei Rhein) was a grand duchy in western Germany that existed from 1806 to 1918. The Grand Duchy originally formed from the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806 ...

, the

Duchy of Brunswick The Duchy of Brunswick (german: Herzogtum Braunschweig) was a historical German state. Its capital city, capital was the city of Braunschweig, Brunswick (). It was established as the successor state of the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel ...

and the Principalities of Reuss (Younger and Older Line), Schwarzburg-Sonderhausen, Waldeck, and Lippe were not represented at the imperial proclamation in Versailles.Theodor Toeche-Mittler: ''Die Kaiserproklamation in Versailles am 18. Januar 1871 mit einem Verzeichniß der Festtheilnehmer'', Ernst Siegfried Mittler und Sohn, Berlin 1896.H. Schnaebeli: ''Fotoaufnahmen der Kaiserproklamation in Versailles'', Berlin 1871.

Accounts from eyewitnesses

The ceremony has been detailed in numerous accounts from the time, and the most important people and their function were described in detail. To conceal the subliminal controversies by mythical concepts, it was said, for example, that the crown had been "cowed by the flood of all German tribes". The founding of the German Empire took place in a contradictory mixture of modesty and grandeur. The letter of the new Emperor Wilhelm I, future

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

, who served as the driver of the founding of the German Empire, and the public account made by historian Albert von Pfister,Albert von Pfister: ''Das Deutsche Vaterland im 19. Jahrhundert. Eine Darstellung der kulturgeschichtlichen und politischen Entwicklung, für das deutsche Volk geschrieben,'' Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart 1900. who was present as a soldier, agreed to the fact that a field altar, instead of a throne, would be built on the Hall of Mirrors. While Wilhelm I emphasised the religious nature of the ceremony, Bismarck encountered the political content of the because he was said to have preferred an actual mood of religious retreat to the pose to victory. Bismarck, surprisingly, openly criticised the Emperor's behaviour since the emperor did not view himself as holding authority over the princes but saw himself as a master of war who triumphed with his faithfuls. Wilhelm spontaneously brought the princes to the same level. In Pfister's description, the religious focus of the ceremony which Wilhelm and Bismarck emphasised. He emphasised, on the other hand, the polarising public effect. The three reports appear more authentically than later portrayals, especially the portrayals in source edits and school book presentations between 1918 and 1945, all of which were created under the dominating impression of the shocking defeat of the "Bismarck Empire" during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

References

{{Authority control 1871 in Germany 1871 in military history 1871 in politics Franco-Prussian War German Empire January 1871 events

William I, German Emperor

Imperial proclamation in Versailles

Background

Proclamation on 18 January 1871

Accounts from eyewitnesses

See also

Further reading

References