The Congress of the German Princes in Frankfurt in 1863: the Last Attempt to Reform the German Confederation

The article examines the preparation and holding of the congress of German princes in Frankfurt am Main in 1863. Being an important stage in the Austro-Prussian rivalry for dominance in Germany, the congress was at the same time the highest point in the efforts of the reform group of German states by absorbing the experience of plans for the development of the Federal Constitution of 1815, the plans which had been discussed since 1849. The article pays particular attention to the role of ministers and princes of the middle German states, who tried during the congress to balance the Austrian project and prevent not only the excessive strengthening of Austria and Prussia, but also the rejection of the reform by public opinion. The defeat of the project in this context was a consequence of not only the Bismarck’s politics against the Confederation, but also of mistakes made by the Austria, who didn’t understand all the complexities of the reform and failed to redirect its strategy to support the middle states that fought to keep Germany on the path of a smooth transition from the confederative model to the federative and to preserve the equality between the members of the Confederation as a historical basis of German federalism.