Four kings alliance

March / April 1850: in yellow those states that have had members elected to the Union parliament, in red the states of the four kings alliance of February 1850

The four kings alliance was concluded on February 27, 1850, between Bavaria , Saxony , Hanover and Württemberg . The four kingdoms, influenced by Austria , essentially supported the Greater Austria Plan . They wanted to equip the German Confederation with more power and institutions than Austria's original plan.

The background to this was Prussia's attempt to establish a small German federal state. The so-called Erfurt Union would have been limited to northern Germany at the time. The kingdoms wanted to counter this intended establishment of a state with an alternative proposal for a federal reform. Ultimately, however, both attempts failed and the old German Confederation was restored .

Coming about and allies

The four kingdoms demanded that in future all of Austria should belong to a German state association. On May 26, 1849, Saxony and Hanover, together with Prussia , signed the three kings alliance in which the establishment of a German Empire (later called the "Erfurt Union") was agreed.

Hanover did not formally join the four kings alliance. It bothered Austria as a whole to join the federal government and wanted a house of states within parliament so that the smaller states could be better involved in federal affairs. It only wanted to join if attempts to reach an understanding with Prussia had failed. However, Hanover actually feared that it would have felt the pressure of Prussia after joining.

content

First of all, according to the four-king alliance, the federal purpose of the German Confederation should be expanded, which so far has primarily served military defense. "Common federal matter" should in future be (Art. 1):

a common diplomacy towards foreign countries, but the individual states were still allowed to have their own envoys
Decision on war and peace, overhead guidance of land and sea forces
Supervision of common commercial and customs affairs, traffic, shipping, post, railroad and telegraphy
"The promotion of an agreement about the desirable equality in coin, measure and weight"
Matriculation fees (federal funding through contributions from the individual states)
"The guarantee of those rights that are guaranteed to the citizens of all German federal states"
Legislation and Jurisdiction Regarding Common Federal Matters

Constitutional diagram for the reformed German Confederation, as outlined in the four-king alliance

The planned federal organs included, in addition to a federal court and a national representation (parliament), a federal government (Art. 3) based in Frankfurt. Austria, Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony, Hanover, Württemberg, the Electorate of Hesse and the Grand Duchy of Hesse each appointed a member of the federal government and gave him instructions. The federal government should decide with a simple majority of votes; unanimity was required for a constitutional amendment.

A national representation (Art. 8) should have three hundred members elected by the parliaments of the individual states. Austria, Prussia and the other states were to send one hundred members each; It was important to ensure that each member state elected at least one member. The federal government appointed the national representation and dissolved it; after a dissolution, the national representation had to be re-elected and appointed within six months.

Federal laws and the budget require the approval of the federal government and the national representation (Art. 4, Art. 11–12). The federal government submitted a budget every three years. The individual states had to pay depending on how many members they sent to the national representation. A two-thirds majority in the national representation was necessary for constitutional changes, admissions of new member states and religious matters (Art. 13, Art. 14).

The reform was to be implemented in the following way: After all member states of the previous German Confederation had approved the agreement, the federal government was to be formed. It would then have taken the place of the Austrian-Prussian Federal Central Commission (Art. 16). After that, the federal government was supposed to draft a federal constitution (constitution) that had to be adopted by all member states of the previous German Confederation. Only then could a national representation be elected with which the Federal Basic Law would be agreed .

consequences

Austrian Empire, 1816–1867. It was Austria's goal to have all of its territories join the German Confederation.

Austria declared on May 15, 1850 that it considered the plan of the four kings alliance to be feasible. However, it only joined under certain conditions: The principles should not be changed (retrospectively); the legislative and executive power of the federal organs must be limited to the subjects mentioned; the aforementioned rights granted to nationals must not refer to any fundamental rights ; Austria also wanted to be given the opportunity to join the Federation with all of its territory.

The agreement was a concession by Austria to the kingdoms. The Austrian Prime Minister Felix zu Schwarzenberg was therefore not unreservedly behind the draft constitution. In Prussia, ministers were definitely interested in the draft, especially the highly conservatives who wanted as little nation-state as possible. Opponent was Joseph von Radowitz , the national-conservative thought leader of the Erfurt Union. Hanover welcomed the fact that Austria had been striving to restore the German Confederation since the spring of 1850. In the end, the draft constitution of the four-king alliance was just as unsuccessful as the Erfurt Union.

swell

No. 179. Agreement between Bavaria, Saxony and Württemberg on the main principles for a revision of the Federal Constitution of February 27, 1850. In: Ernst Rudolf Huber: Documents on the German constitutional history . Volume 1: German constitutional documents 1803-1850 . W. Kohlkammer Verlag, Stuttgart, 1961, pp. 444-446
No. 180. Austrian declaration on joining the four-kings alliance of May 15, 1850. In: Ernst Rudolf Huber: Documents on German constitutional history . Volume 1: German constitutional documents 1803-1850 . W. Kohlkammer Verlag, Stuttgart, 1961, pp. 446/447

supporting documents

^ Hans-Georg Aschoff: Hanover, the Dreikönigsbündnis and the Erfurt Union . In: Gunther Mai (Ed.): The Erfurt Union and the Erfurt Union Parliament 1850. Böhlau, Cologne u. a. 2000, pp. 111-136, here p. 133.
↑ No. 180. Austrian declaration on joining the four-king alliance of May 15, 1850. In: Ernst Rudolf Huber: Documents on German constitutional history . Volume 1: German constitutional documents 1803-1850 . W. Kohlkammer Verlag, Stuttgart, 1961, p. 446/447, p. 447.
^ Ernst Rudolf Huber: German constitutional history since 1789. Volume II: The struggle for unity and freedom 1830 to 1850 . 3rd edition, Verlag W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart [ua] 1988, pp. 893/894.
^ Hans-Georg Aschoff: Hanover, the Dreikönigsbündnis and the Erfurt Union . In: Gunther Mai (Ed.): The Erfurt Union and the Erfurt Union Parliament 1850. Böhlau, Cologne u. a. 2000, pp. 111-136, here p. 133.

[1] Hans-Georg Aschoff: Hanover, the Dreikönigsbündnis and the Erfurt Union . In: Gunther Mai (Ed.): The Erfurt Union and the Erfurt Union Parliament 1850. Böhlau, Cologne u. a. 2000, pp. 111-136, here p. 133.

[2] No. 180. Austrian declaration on joining the four-king alliance of May 15, 1850. In: Ernst Rudolf Huber: Documents on German constitutional history . Volume 1: German constitutional documents 1803-1850 . W. Kohlkammer Verlag, Stuttgart, 1961, p. 446/447, p. 447.

[3] Ernst Rudolf Huber: German constitutional history since 1789. Volume II: The struggle for unity and freedom 1830 to 1850 . 3rd edition, Verlag W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart [ua] 1988, pp. 893/894.

[4] Hans-Georg Aschoff: Hanover, the Dreikönigsbündnis and the Erfurt Union . In: Gunther Mai (Ed.): The Erfurt Union and the Erfurt Union Parliament 1850. Böhlau, Cologne u. a. 2000, pp. 111-136, here p. 133.