The Frankfurt Parliament was the first freely elected parliament for all German states, including the German-populated areas of the Austrian Empire, elected on 1 May 1848.
Frankfurt Parliament
Political assembly, Berlin, 1848
Memorial plaque on the Paulskirche, Frankfurt
Seating arrangements of the deputies in the Paulskirche
The German Confederation 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, which had been dissolved in 1806 in reaction to the Napoleonic Wars.
Frontispiece of the Acts of the Congress of Vienna
Monarchs of the member states of the German Confederation (with the exception of the Prussian king) meeting at Frankfurt in 1863
Austrian chancellor and foreign minister Klemens von Metternich dominated the German Confederation from 1815 until 1848.
The University of Berlin in 1850