Munich Graetz Conference
At the Munich Graetz Conference in September 1833, Austria , Russia and Prussia agreed on a common policy towards the Ottoman Empire , Poland and against liberalism .
prehistory
The revolutionary unrest of 1830 in large parts of Europe in the form of the July Revolution in France, the independence of Belgium , the November uprising in Poland and other events made Metternich 's desire to reconstruct the international conference system of the time after the Congress of Vienna grow. His efforts in this regard were initially only successful with regard to the two other conservative powers Russia and Prussia. Nicholas I had similar motives when he was looking for a rapprochement with Austria.
agreement
In September, Tsar Nicholas I and Emperor Franz I met in the Bohemian town of Mnichovo Hradiště (German: Münchengrätz). Prussia was represented by Prince Wilhelm . In the Münchengrätz Convention, three points were essentially agreed.
The first aspect concerned the future of the Ottoman Empire. Russia, which had tried again and again to weaken the Ottoman Empire, now pledged to preserve it without having to give up the possibility of expanding its influence in the Balkans and the Black Sea . In the event of an attack by Egypt on the Sultan, however, Russia should only be able to proceed in consultation with Austria.
The second point concerned the Polish subdivisions. The powers assured each other of their property and promised each other support if the Poles tried again to found an independent state.
The last point concerned the common struggle against the liberal movement. The three powers agreed to exchange police reports and other similar measures. They also agreed that in the event of revolutionary unrest in the German Confederation , Prussia or Austria, the partners should intervene militarily upon request. As recently as 1849, Russian soldiers helped the Austrians in connection with the revolutionary movements.
The meeting in Münchengrätz was, in a sense, the last meeting of the Holy Alliance at which the principle of intervention was re-established. There it was also about securing the monarchical system as a whole. Nicholas I promised to stand up for Ferdinand despite his weakness of mind if he changed the throne in Austria . Overall, the cooperation of the three powers was prepared in Münchengrätz up to the beginning of the 1840s and the political system of 1815 was stabilized again.
The appointments of Münchengrätz were fixed in a contract signed in Berlin on October 16, 1833. At Prussian endeavors, the treaties remained secret. Western Europe did not allow itself to be integrated into the Münchengrätz Alliance. Rather, an alliance of Great Britain, France, Spain and Portugal formed as a counterforce in 1834, which decided to intervene in favor of national and constitutional movements.
literature
- Wolfram Siemann : Metternich. Statesman between restoration and modernity. Munich 2010, p. 90 f.
- Handbook on Prussian History. Vol. 3 Berlin a. a., 2000 p. 766
- Anselm Doering-Manteuffel: The German Question and the European State System 1815-1871 Munich, 2001 p. 17