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1848 Revolutions in Austria Facts & Worksheets

The 1848 revolutions in Austria occurred during the reign of Emperor Joseph II when he aimed to centralize the Austrian empire’s rule in Vienna.

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The 1848 revolutions in Austria occurred during the reign of Emperor Joseph II when he aimed to centralize the Austrian empire’s rule in Vienna in an attempt to form a unified regional state similar to other monarchies in Europe.

See the fact file below for more information on the 1848 Revolutions in Austria or alternatively, you can download our 23-page 1848 Revolutions in Austria worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

WHO WAS INVOLVED?

  • Nationalists performed much of the revolutionary activity in their attempt to achieve independence, autonomy, or dominance over other nationalities.
  • The Empire, ruled from Vienna, included ethnic Germans, Hungarians, Slovenes, Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Ruthenians (Ukrainians), Romanians, Croats, Venetians (Italians), and Serbs.

SOCIAL AND POLITICAL TENSIONS

  • The 1848 revolutions were the culmination of years of social and political tensions following the Congress of Vienna in 1815.
  • The Austrian Empire was already conservative but it further deviated from ideas of the Age of Enlightenment.
  • At the time, conflicts over organized religion, land rights, and tax collection were among the tensions that was prevalent prior to the events in 1848.
  • Social tensions also emerged from the peasantry’s resentment of feudal obligations.
  • Klemens Wenzel von Metternich was the Austrian Empire’s conservative foreign minister from 1809 and Chancellor from 1821 until he resigned because of the 1848 revolutions.
  • The Empire’s efforts to put a stop to the revolutions as 1848 approached and to sustain Metternich’s Concert of Europe nearly reduced the empire to bankruptcy.
  • In 1846, there was an uprising of Polish nobility in Galicia (or Austria Poland) which was countered when peasants staged a rebellion against the nobles.
  • There had also been a serious recession and food shortage throughout Europe from 1845 to 1847.
  • At the end of February 1848, protests took place in Paris, resulting in the abdication of Louis Philippe I of France, which prompted similar revolts across Europe.

REVOLUTIONS TIMELINE

  • The capital of the Austrian Empire was Vienna, which was also a cultural center in Europe at the time, rightfully referred to as “the jewel of the Austrian Empire”.
  • Vienna was home to an ethnically diverse crowd, particularly intellectuals, writers, artists, and composers.
  • These groups had become increasingly nationalist and longed to gain independence.
  • In the wake of the February Revolution in France, the ethnic groups intensely opposed assimilation.
  • One particular group that influenced revolts in Vienna was a radical Hungarian Magyar group led by Louis Kossuth.
  • In March 1848, the group started a vocal independence movement, which soon reached Vienna.
  • As Metternich monitored the revolutionary activity throughout Europe, he became frightened and alarmed, and quickly fled Vienna.
  • Austrian Czechs and Austrian controlled Italian states followed the leadership of the Magyars.
  • On March 15, 1848, Hungary was granted independence from the Habsburg dynasty.
  • Soon after, rebellious Italian states like Milan overthrew the Austrian occupation.
  • The revolutions in Austria were mostly led by students and intellectuals, which meant they could not get the same level of support as the middle class revolutionaries in Western Europe.
  • In June 1848, the revolutions in Austria began to lose impetus.
  • In the same month, a Pan-Slavism congress held by a group of Slavic nationalists in Prague turned violent.
  • Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria sent the army to disintegrate the uprising in Prague.
  • He also sent troops against the rebellious Italian states of Lombardy and Milan.
  • In September and October 1848, Louis Kossuth led a movement to make Magyar Hungary’s official language even though only half of the Hungarian population spoke Magyar.

THE END AND AFTERMATH

  • Throughout October 1848, Vienna went back and forth between revolution and counterrevolution.
  • By the end of October, the army reconquered Vienna and executed some of the radical leaders in the city.
  • Following the Revolutions of 1848, Emperor Ferdinand abdicated on December 2, 1848, and was succeeded by his nephew, Franz Joseph.
  • Franz Joseph appealed to the Russians who marched into Hungary and defeated the Magyars.
  • The 1848 revolutions in Austria came to an end, restoring order in the Empire.
  • The greatest impact of the revolutions was that serfdom was abolished.
  • Austria became an even more conservative state, even as its contemporary European states moved towards radical change.

1848 Revolutions in Austria Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the 1848 Revolutions in Austria across 23 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use 1848 Revolutions in Austria worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the 1848 revolutions in Austria which occurred during the reign of Emperor Joseph II when he aimed to centralize the Austrian empire’s rule in Vienna in an attempt to form a unified regional state similar to other monarchies in Europe.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • 1848 Revolutions in Austria Facts
  • Throughout the Continent
  • Men in Power
  • Revolutionary Events
  • Picture Narrative
  • Yes or No?
  • Snapshot of History
  • Word Correction
  • Reflecting on Independence
  • Poster Making
  • Revolution Acrostic

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Use With Any Curriculum

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