Matthew Kelly-Montresor
To Hell With Liberal Revolution Ð A Study
of Politics in Vienna
Whoever said that a cityÕs structure and
culture has no impact on the government was a complete idiot[AM1]. Or at least he or she never lived in
Vienna. Vienna (or Vindobona as it
was first named), just like Londinium or early Paris, was founded as a Roman
Castrum. But where Vienna differed
greatly from London and Paris was in the political structure of the city, most
noticeably, how long the monarchy lasted with absolute power. While London fell [AM2]very
early on to a Parliament, and Paris was in and out of radical revolutions in
what seemed to be every month, Vienna until the 19th century never
had these problems. Vienna always
had a strong monarchy that ruled with an iron fist from what seemed like[AM3]
its creation until the revolution of 1848. ViennaÕs monarchy did
not lose its power like the English or French because of the structure of the
city [AM4]and its history of strong and powerful monarchs[AM5].[AM6]
Before
one can understand how the structure of the city and its history of strong and
powerful monarchs withstood the liberal revolutions of the time[AM7], one must have a brief history of the
city of Vienna. Vindobona was
founded as a Roman Castrum and became an official Roman city in 213 A.D. ÒUnder Duke Heinrich II, Austria became
a duchy, according to the Privilegium minus around 1156. The offices of
government moved from Regensburg to Vienna.Ó3 The city was forced to expand because
of this move, and the Ringmauer, a new wall around the city, was built. ÒAfter the defeat of the Bohemian King
and sovereign Ottokar II in the battle of Marchfeld (1276), the history of
Vienna and Austria was inseparably connected to the House of Habsburg.Ó3 The University at Vienna was founded in
1365.
The city reached a golden age [AM8]in 1439 when the Holy Roman Emperor chose
Vienna as his capital (this would last until 1806). This choice brought about many cultural and economic
benefits to the city, which will be discussed later. ÒThe Farmers' Uprising (1525), the wars of religion and the
Counterreformation were followed by two Turkish invasions (1529 and 1683), both
of which were successfully held back.Ó3 The Habsburgs acquired many territories throughout Europe,
gaining control of much of Central Europe. Many Catholic priests were called to Vienna by the Holy
Roman Emperor to build churches.
Vienna did not reach its true golden age
until Maria Theresa and her son Joseph II brought many famous architects such
as Johann Bernhard to the city to build buildings to make Vienna not only
magnificent and powerful but beautiful as well. Vienna regressed in 1805 and 1809 when it was held by
Napoleon. But the Congress of Vienna (1814-1815) restored Vienna to its old
greatness by reestablishing Austria as a European major power[AM9].
In 1848, a clash between the aristocracy and the peasantry forced
Emperor Ferdinand I to abdicate his throne to Franz Joseph I. Joseph I ruled until 1916.
How
is it possible that the development and structure of Vienna helped keep the
monarchy in power as long as it did?
The answer is quite simple: every development Vienna went through was
done by edict from the monarchy, not by demand or need from the lower class,
even though some of those edicts did help the lower class. Also, the city was under such constant
attack from various forces that were constantly repelled by the monarchy that
the citizens entrusted the protection and development of the city to the monarchy
because it kept the city safe. When Vienna repelled a Turkish siege in
1683, it caused Emperor Leopold I to not only rebuild the outer defensive
walls, but also to build many magnificent Baroque buildings to demonstrate the
glory of Vienna and the king. The
people of Vienna were glad to have these new buildings and also glad to have
the increase in the number of soldiers stationed inside the city in the new
barracks. Unlike London and Paris,
because Vienna was constantly under attack, many soldiers were stationed there;
these soldiers were also huge deterrents to those who wanted to start a
revolution. Also, the soldiers
were under direct control of the king, who used them not only to protect the
city but to keep order and maintain his power as well.[AM10]
The
actual infrastructure of the city also helped maintain the power of the
monarchy. The city was surrounded
by walls not only to keep the enemies out but also to keep the citizens
in. Surrounding the city and
within the city were stationed many barracks full of soldiers under direct
control of the monarch. There were
many long and wide roads throughout Vienna, which would facilitate troop
movement in case of revolution.
These main roads were the contained the center of commerce, culture, and
education. The residences of all
the classes were located along the side roads. Another thing that Vienna was not subjected to unlike London
or Paris was overcrowding. There
were no neighborhoods of horrible slums or millions of people living in
Vienna. All of these factors let
alone the fact that all the people of Vienna generally liked the monarchy
helped keep the monarchy in power.
As it turns out, it was the middle class and students that caused the
revolution in 1848, not the lower class.
The
other way that Vienna remained revolution free for so long was because of the
power and skill the monarchs had in ruling. The Habsburgs Òwere not averse to using a bit of muscleÓ1
when it came to ruling but they often used more traditional means of getting
things done. This was especially
true when it came to the expansion of the empire; the Habsburgs expanded
Austria through Òjudicious real estate purchases and many politically-motivated
marriages.Ó1
But when they had to use muscle to control, they did
so quite effectively. In 1815,
when many nationalist movements were coming up in the territories owned by
Austria, the Habsburgs sent out spies and police to quell these movements. They made it extremely difficult for
people to enter or leave the country in order to stop the spread of nationalist
ideas into Vienna. Censorship was
rampant throughout music and literature and all educational institutions were
closely monitored to stop these ideas from spreading.
A well run monarchy with a powerful leader
and good advisors combined with a city that is beneficial to the monarchÕs
power keeps a city safe and controlled.
And that is exactly how Vienna was run for hundreds of years. It is interesting that what eventually
brought about a successful revolution in Vienna was not hatred towards the
Monarch or a stupid decision made by the king, but hatred towards an advisor
that the monarch let have too much influence. And unlike Paris or London, the lower class had nothing to
do with the revolution. It was the
students who forced the king to fire Metternich and instate a new form of
government. In that way, the
revolution was very similar to recent student lead movements proving that when
a revolution finally occurred in Vienna, it was way ahead of its time.
Bibliography:
1.
http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/1605/habsburg.htm
3.
http://www.arch.kth.se/hemsidor/otherhome/octavianhome/Austria/vienhist.html