Prince Klemens Wenzel von Metternich

Prince Klemens Wenzel von Metternich (full name German: Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar, Fürst von Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein, anglicised as Clement Wenceslas Lothar von Metternich-Winneburg-Beilstein; 15 May 1773 – 11 June 1859[1]) was a Germanpolitician and statesman of Rhenish extraction and one of the most important diplomats of his era, serving as the Foreign Minister of theHoly Roman Empire and its successor state, the Austrian Empire, from 1809 until the liberal revolutions of 1848 forced his resignation. One of his first tasks was to engineer a détente with France that included the marriage of Napoleon to the Austrian Arch-Duchess Marie Louise. Soon after, however, he engineered Austria's entry into the War of the Sixth Coalition on the Allied side, signed the Treaty of Fontainebleauthat sent Napoleon into exile and led the Austrian delegation at the Congress of Vienna which divided post-Napoleonic Europe between the major powers. In recognition of his service to the Austrian Empire he was raised to the title of Prince in October 1813. Under his guidance, the "Metternich system" of international congresses continued for another decade as Austria aligned herself with Russia and, to a lesser extent, Prussia. This marked the high point of Austria's diplomatic importance, and thereafter Metternich slowly slipped back into the periphery of international diplomacy. At home, Metternich also held the post of Chancellor of State from 1821 until 1848, under both Francis II of Austria and his son Ferdinand I of Austria. After a brief period of exile in London, Brighton and Brussels that lasted until 1851, he returned once more to the Viennese court, this time to offer only advice to Ferdinand's successor, Franz Josef. Having outlived his generation of politicians, Metternich died at the age of 86 in 1859.

Born into the House of Metternich in 1773 as the son of a diplomat, Metternich received a good education at the universities of Strasbourgand Mainz. He also helped during the coronation of Francis II in 1792 and that of his predecessor, Leopold II, in 1790. After a brief trip to England, Metternich was named as the Austrian ambassador to the Netherlands; a short-lived post, since the country was brought under French control the next year. He married his first wife, Eleonore von Kaunitz, in 1795 and it did much to catapult him into Viennese society. Despite having numerous affairs, he was devastated by her death in 1825. He would later remarry, wedding Baroness Antoinette Leykam in 1827 and, after her death in 1829, Countess Melanie Zichy-Ferraris in 1831. She would also predecease him by five years. Before taking office as Foreign Minister, Metternich held numerous smaller posts, including ambassadorial roles in the Kingdom of Saxony, the Kingdom of Prussia and Napoleonic France. One of Metternich's sons, Richard von Metternich, was also a successful diplomat; many of Metternich's twelve other acknowledged children predeceased him. A traditional conservative, Metternich was keen to maintain the balance of power, in particular by resisting Russian territorial ambitions in Central Europe and over the lands of the Ottoman Empire. He disliked liberalism and worked to prevent the breakup of the Austrian empire; for example, by forcibly crushing nationalist revolts in Austrian north Italy and the German states. At home, he pursued a similar policy, using censorship and a wide ranging spy network to dampen down unrest.

Metternich has both been praised and heavily criticised for the policies he pursued. His supporters point out that he presided over the "Age of Metternich", when international diplomacy helped prevent major wars in Europe. His qualities as a diplomat have also been commended; some add that his achievements were all the better given the weakness of his negotiating position. His decision to oppose Russian imperialism is also seen as a good one. His detractors describe him as a bore who stuck to ill-thought-out conservative principles only out of vanity and a sense of infallibility. They argue that he could have done much more in terms of securing Austria's future; instead, his 1817 proposals for administrative reform were largely rejected and, by opposing German nationalism, they find him responsible for ensuring it would be Prussia and not Austria that united it. Other historians have argued that in fact he had far less power than this view suggests, and that his policies were only accepted when they agreed with the existing view of the Habsburg monarchy that ruled Austria.

 

 

Early life

Metternich's coat of arms

Klemens Metternich was born into the House of Metternich on 15 May 1773 to Franz George Karl Count Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein, a diplomat who had passed from the service of the Archbishopric of Trier to that of the Imperial court, and his wife Countess Maria Beatrice Aloisia von Kagenegg (alternatively von Kageneck). He was named in honour of Prince Clemens Wenceslaus of Saxony, the archbishop-elector of Trier and the past employer of his father. He was the eldest son of the couple and had one elder sister. At the time of Metternich's birth the family possessed a ruined keep at Beilstein, a castle at Winneberg, an estate just to the west of Koblenz, and an estate 300 miles away in Königswart, Bohemia, won during the 17th century. At this time Metternich's father, described as "a boring babbler and chronic liar" by a contemporary, was the Austrian ambassador to the courts of the three Rhenish electors (Trier, Cologne and Mainz). Metternich's education was handled by his mother, heavily influenced by their proximity to the border with France; indeed, for many years Metternich would consider himself able to communicate better in French than German. As a child he would also go on official visits with his father and, under the direction of Protestant tutor John Frederick Simon, he was tutored not just in academic affairs but also in swimming and horseriding.

In the summer of 1788 Metternich began studying law at the University of Strasbourg and was matriculated on 12 November. During his time at the University he was for some time accommodated by Prince Maximilian of Zweibrücken, the future King of Bavaria. At this time he was described by Simon as "happy, handsome and lovable", though contemporaries would later recount how he had been a liar and a braggart. Metternich left Strasbourg in September 1790 to attend Leopold II's October coronation in Frankfurt, an event for which he had been awarded the largely honorific position of Ceremonial Marshall to the Catholic Bench of the College of the Counts of Westphalia. There, under the wing of his father, he met with the future Francis II and looked at ease among the nobility present.

Between the end of 1790 and the summer of 1792 Metternich studied law at the University of Mainz,  where he received a more conservative education than he had at Strasbourg, a city now too unsafe to which to return. In the summers he worked with his father who had been appointed plenipotentiary to the Austrian Netherlands. In March 1792 Francis succeeded his father Leopold as Holy Roman Emperor and was crowned in July, prompting Metternich to reprise his earlier role of Ceremonial Marshall. To this he added the honour of officially opening the accompanying ball alongside Louise of Mecklenburg. In the meantime France had declared war on Austria, beginning the War of the First Coalition (1792–7) and making Metternich's further study in Mainz impossible. Now falling back on his employment with his father, he was sent on a special mission to the front. Here he ended up leading the interrogation of the French Minister of War the Marquis de Beurnonville and several National Convention commissioners who were accompanying him. Metternich also observed the siege and fall ofValenciennes, an experience he would later look back on as teaching him a great deal about warfare. In early 1794 he was sent to England on, at least ostensibly, official business helping Viscount Desandrouin, the Treasurer-General of the Austrian Netherlands, to negotiate a loan.

 

 

Marriage and the Congress of Rastatt

During his stay in England he met the king on several occasions and dined with a number of influential British politicians, including William Pitt, Charles James Fox and Edmund Burke. Metternich was nominated as the new Minister Plenipotentiary to the Dutch Republic and left England in September 1794. Unfortunately, he found an exiled and powerless government in headlong retreat from the latest French advance. Even worse news came in October as a revitalised French army swept into Germany and annexed all of the Metternich estates except Königswart. Disappointed, and affected by heavy criticism of his father's key policies, he joined his parents in Vienna in November. On 27 September 1795 he married Countess Eleonore von Kaunitz, a granddaughter of former Austrian chancellor Wenzel Kaunitz. The marriage, accompanied by a significant dowry, was arranged by Metternich's mother and introduced him to Viennese society. This was undoubtedly part of the motivation for Metternich, who demonstrated less affection for her than she for him. Two conditions were imposed on the marriage by the father of the bride, Prince Kaunitz: firstly, the still youthful Eleonore was to continue to live at home; and secondly, Metternich was forbidden from serving as a diplomat as long as the Prince was still alive. Their daughter Maria was born in January 1797.

After studying in Vienna, the Prince's death in September 1797 allowed Metternich to participate in the Congress of Rastatt. Initially Metternich's father offered to take him as a secretary while ensuring that, when proceedings officially started in December 1797, he was named as the representative of the Catholic Bench of the College of the Counts of Westphalia. A bored Metternich remained at Rastatt in this role until 1799 when, much to his relief, the congress was finally wound down. During this period Eleonore had chosen to live with Metternich at Rastatt and gave birth to sons Francis (February 1798) and, shortly after the end of the Congress, Klemens (June 1799). Much to Metternich's anguish Klemens died after only a few days, and Francis soon contracted a lung infection from which he would never recover.

 

 

Dresden and Berlin

The Holy Roman Empire's defeat in the War of the Second Coalition shook up its diplomatic circles and the promising Metternich was now offered the choice between three ministerial positions: to the Imperial Diet at Regensburg; to the Kingdom of Norway at Copenhagen; or to the Elector of Saxony at Dresden. He chose the third of these in late January 1801 and his appointment was officially announced in February. Metternich summered in Vienna, where he wrote his "Instructions", a memorandum which showed much greater understanding of statesmanship than any of Metternich's earlier writing and visited the Königswart estate in the autumn, before finally taken up his new position on 4 November.

 The subtleties of the document were, however, entirely lost on the Saxon court, which was headed by the retiring Frederick Augustus, a man who lacked any desire for political initiative. Despite the boredom of the court itself, Metternich enjoyed the light-hearted frivolity of the city and took up a mistress, Katharina Bagration, who bore him a daughter, Klementine. In January 1803 Metternich and his wife had another child themselves whom they named Viktor. In Dresden Metternich also made a number of important contacts including Friedrich Gentz, a publicist who would guide Metternich in alternating roles as his confidant and critic for the next thirty years. He also established links with important Polish and French political figures.

“ Count Metternich is young but by no means maladroit. We shall see how he shapes up in Berlin. ”

—Colloredo to Thugut (Palmer 1972, p. 39).

The Imperial Recess of 1803 brought Metternich's family new estates in Ochsenhausen, the title of Prince and a seat in the Imperial Diet. In the ensuing diplomatic reshuffle Metternich was appointed ambassador to the Kingdom of Prussia, an appointment he was notified of in February 1803 and began in November of that year. He arrived at a critical juncture in European diplomacy, and Metternich soon grew worried about the territorial ambitions of Napoleon Bonaparte, the new leader of France. This fear was shared by the Russian court, under Alexander I, and the Tsar kept Metternich informed of Russian policy. By the autumn of 1804 Vienna agreed and, in August 1805, the Austrian Empire (as the Holy Roman Empire was in the process of becoming) took up the fight, beginning their involvement in the War of the Third Coalition. Metternich's now almost impossible task was to convince Prussia to join the coalition against Bonaparte. Their eventual agreement was not motivated by Metternich's pleas, and after the coalition's heavy defeat at the Battle of Austerlitz however, Prussia disregarded the agreement and signed a treaty with the French instead.

 

 

Paris

In the ensuing reshuffle in Vienna Johann Philipp Stadion became the Austrian foreign minister, freeing up for Metternich the post of Ambassador to the Russian Empire. In the event, he never made it to Russia as a need had arisen for a new Austrian at the French court. Metternich was duly approved for the role in June 1806.

 Metternich enjoyed being in demand and was happy to be sent to France on a generous salary of 90,000 gulden a year.[17] After an arduous trip he took up residence as ambassador there in August 1806, being briefed by Baron von Vincent, and Engelbert von Floret whom he would retain as a close adviser for two decades. He met French foreign minister Charles Talleyrand on 5 August and Napoleon himself five days later at Saint-Cloud; soon, the War of the Fourth Coalition drew both Talleyrand and Napoleon eastwards.

 His wife and children joined him in October and he took the opportunity to ingratiate himself into society where, using his charm, he rapidly achieved a large degree of social eminence. The presence of Eleonore did not prevent Metternich from embarking on a series of affairs that certainly included Napoleon's sister Caroline Murat[19] and Laure Junot and perhaps many more besides.

After the Treaties of Tilsit of July 1807 Metternich saw that Austria's position in Europe was now much more vulnerable but believed that the accord between Russia and France would not last long. In the meantime he found the new French Foreign Minister, Jean-Baptiste Champagny unaccommodating and struggled to negotiate a satisfactory settlement over the future of several French forts on the River Inn. Over the following months the reach of Austrian policy, and Metternich's own reputation, increased. Metternich himself pushed for a Russo-Austrian alliance, though Russian Tsar Alexander was too preoccupied with the three other wars he was engaged in to commit. Over time, Metternich came to see war an eventual war with France inevitable.

 

Napoleon receiving von Vincent at Erfurt, a congress Metternich was not allowed to attend

In a memorable event to all sides, Metternich argued with Napoleon at the French leader's 35th birthday celebrations in August 1808 as a result of the increasingly obvious preparations for war from both sides. Soon after, Napoleon refused Metternich's attendance at the  Congress of Erfurt; Metternich was later glad to hear from Talleyrand that Napoleon's attempts to get Russia to invade Austria at the Congress had proved unsuccessful. In late 1808 Metternich was recalled to Vienna for five weeks of meetings about the possibility of Austria invading France whilst Napoleon was on campaign in Spain.

 His memoranda reported that France was not united behind Napoleon, that Russia was unlikely to want to fight Austria, and that France had precious few reliable troops he could commit to fighting in central Europe. Once back in Paris, Metternich himself was overtly apprehensive about his own safety. When Austria declared war on France, Metternich was indeed arrested in retaliation for the arrest of two French diplomats in Vienna, but the practical implications of this were minimal and he was allowed to leave France under escort for Austria in late May 1809. After Napoleon's capture of Vienna Metternich was conducted to the Austrian capital and handed over in exchange for the French diplomats.

 

 

Détente with France

Now back in Austria, Metternich witnessed her defeat at the Battle of Wagram first hand. His reputation tarnished, Stadion tendered his resignation as Foreign Minister and the emperor immediately offered the post to Metternich. Metternich, worried that Napoleon would seize on this to demand harsher peace terms, instead agreed to become a minister of state (which he did on 8 July) and lead negotiations with the French on the understanding that he would formally replace Stadion as Foreign Minister at a later date.

 During peace talks at Altenburg, Metternich put forward pro-French proposals to save the Austrian monarchy. Napoleon, however, disliked his memorandum on the future of Poland and Metternich was gradually displaced from proceedings by Prince Liechtenstein. He soon regained the influence he had lost, however, as a result of his previously arranged appointment to the post of Foreign Minister (and additionally that of Minister of the Imperial Household) on 8 October.In early 1810 Metternich's earlier affair with Junot became public but, because of Eleonore's understanding, the new Austrian Foreign Minister was never greatly scandalised by it.

 

Metternich was influential in bring about the marriage of Napoleon to Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria.

One of Metternich's first tasks was to push for the marriage of Napoleon to Archduchess Marie Louise at a time when Napoleon was also interested in a marriage to the Tsar's youngest sister Anna Pavlovna. Metternich would later seek to distance himself from the marriage by claiming it was Napoleon's own idea, but this is improbable, and, in any case, he was happy to claim responsibility for the marriage at the time. By 7 February Napoleon had agreed and the pair, still estranged, were married by proxy on 11 March. Marie Louise left for France soon after and Metternich followed, albeit by a deliberately different route and unofficially. The visit was designed, Metternich explained, to transport his family (stranded in France by the outbreak of war) home and to report back to the Austrian Emperor about Marie Louise's activities.

Instead, Metternich stayed six months, entrusting his office in Vienna to his father. He soon set about using the marriage, combined with flattery, to renegotiate the terms set out at Schönbrunn. The concessions he won were ultimately trivial, however: a few trading rights, a delay in paying the war indemnity, restitution of some estates belonging to Germans in the Austrian service including the Metternich family's, and the lifting of a 150,000 man limit imposed by the treaty on the Austrian army.

 

 

As France's ally

When Metternich returned to Vienna in October 1810 he found he was no longer as popular as he had been before, with his influence limited to foreign affairs and his attempts to get a full Council of State reintroduced failed. With a strong belief that the now much weakened Austria should avoid another invasion by France in any Franco-Russian war, he turned away the diplomatic advances of Tsar Alexander and instead concluded an alliance with Napoleon on 14 March 1812. He also supported a period of moderate censorship, aimed at preventing provocation of the French. Requiring that only 30,000 Austrian troops fight alongside the French, the alliance treaty was more generous than the one Prussia had signed a month earlier; this allowed Metternich to give both Britain and Russia assurances that Austria remained committed to curbing Napoleonic ambitions. The Austrian foreign minister accompanied his sovereign for a final meeting with Napoleon at Dresden in May 1812 before the French Emperor moved east.

The Dresden meeting revealed that Austria's influence in Europe had reached its lowest point and Metternich was now keen to take advantage of what he saw as his continuing strong ties with all sides in the war to regain it, proposing general peace talks headed by Austria. Over the next three months Metternich would slowly distance Austria from the French cause, whilst avoiding alliance with either Prussia or Russia, and remaining open to any peace proposal that would secure a place in Europe for the combined Bonaparte-Habsburg dynasty. This grew out of a deep concern that, if Napoleon were conclusively defeated in battle, Russia and Prussia stood to gain too much. Napoleon was unavailing, however, and the fighting (now officially the War of the Sixth Coalition) continued. Austria's alliance with France ended in February 1813 and, much to Napoleon's anger, Austria took the opportunity to move to a position of armed neutrality.

 

 

As a neutral

Metternich was much less keen on turning against France than many of his contemporaries (though not the Emperor). He favoured his own plans for a general settlement; nonetheless, these were not faring well and although a statement of general war aims from the Russians that included many nods to Austria was secured, Britain remained distrustful and generally unwilling to give up the military initiative she had been fighting for twenty years to establish. Despite this, Francis created the Austrian foreign minister Grand-Chancellor of the Order of Maria Theresa, a post which had been vacant since the time of Kaunitz. 

Metternich grew increasingly worried that Napoleon's retreat would be accompanied by the kind of disorder that would do the Habsburgs no good at all. A peace had to be concluded soon in his eyes and, since Britain could not be coerced, he sent proposals to France and Russia only. These were rejected, though after the battles of Lützen (2 May) and Bautzen (20–21 May), a French-initiated truce was duly called. Starting in April Metternich began to "slowly and reluctantly" prepare Austria for war with France; the armistice provided Austria time for a more complete mobilisation.

In June Metternich was forced to leave Vienna and personally handle negotiations at Gitschin in Bohemia. When he arrived he found the hospitality of Princess Wilhelmine, Duchess of Sagan useful and the pair began an affair that would last several months. None of his mistresses would achieve such influence over Metternich as Wilhelmine and he would continue to write letters to her after their separation. Meanwhile French Foreign Minister Hugues-Bernard Maret remained elusive, though Metternich did manage to discuss the state of affairs with the Tsar on 18–19 June at Opotschna.

 In talks which would later be ratified as the Reichenbach Convention they agreed on general peace demands and set out a process by which Austria could enter into the war on the coalition side. Shortly afterwards Metternich was invited to join Napoleon at Dresden, where he could put the terms directly. Though no reliable record of their meeting on 26 June 1813 exists it seems it was a stormy meeting, though not one that disappointed either side. Agreement was finally reached as Metternich was about to leave: peace talks would start in Prague in July and run until 20 August.

 In agreeing to this Metternich had ignored the Reichenbach Convention and this fact angered Austria's coalition allies. The Conference of Prague would never properly meet, since Napoleon gave his representatives Armand Caulaincourt and the Count of Narbonne insufficient powers to negotiate terms for a peace. At the informal discussions held in lieu of the conference, Caulaincourt implied that Napoleon would not start negotiating until an allied army threatened France itself. This proved sufficient to convert Metternich, and, after an ultimatum that Metternich had issued to France went unheeded, Austria duly declared war on 12 August.

 

 

As a coalition partner

Though Austria's coalition allies saw the declaration of war as an acceptance of the failure of Austria's diplomatic ambitions, Metternich considered it one manoeuvre in a much longer campaign. For the rest of the war he strived to hold the coalition together and, as such, to prevent the Russians from gaining momentum in Europe. To this end he won an early victory as, an Austrian general, the Prince of Schwarzenberg, was confirmed as supreme commander of the coalition forces in preference to Tsar Alexander I. He also succeeded in getting the three allied monarchs (Alexander, Francis and Prussia's Frederick William III) to follow him and their armies on campaign. With the Treaties of Teplitz, Metternich allowed Austria to remain uncommitted over the future of France, Italy and Poland.

He was still confined, however, by the British who considerably subsidised Prussia and Russia (in September Metternich asked for Austria to be added to the list of recipient countries). Meanwhile, the coalition forces took the offensive. On 18 October 1813 Metternich witnessed the successful Battle of Leipzigand, two days later, he was rewarded for his "wise direction" of foreign affairs when he was given the rank of prince (German: Fürst). Metternich was delighted when Frankfurt was retaken in early November and, in particular, the deference the tsar showed to Francis at a ceremony organised there by Metternich. Diplomatically, with the war drawing to a close, he remained determined to prevent the creation of a strong unified German state, even offering Napoleon generous terms in order to retain it as a counterweight. On 2 December 1813 Napoleon agreed to talk, though these were delayed by the need for a more senior British diplomat (Viscount Castlereagh) to be present.

Before talks could commence, coalition armies crossed the Rhine on 22 December. Metternich retired from Frankfurt to Breisgau to celebrate Christmas with his wife's family before travelling to the new coalition headquarters at Basel in January 1814. Quarrels with the Tsar Alexander, particularly over the fate of France. intensified in January prompting Alexander to storm out. He therefore missed the arrival of Castlereagh in mid-January. The pair, who formed a good working relationship, then travelled into France to discuss matters with Alexander at Langres. The tsar remained unaccommodating however, demanding a push into the centre of France; fortunately, he was too preoccupied to object to Metternich's other ideas, such as a final peace conference in Vienna. Metternich did not attend talks with the French at Chatillon as he wanted to stay with Alexander. The talks stalled, and, after a brief advance, defeat atMontmirail and Montereau forced coalition forces to retreat. This relieved Metternich's fears that an overconfident Tsar Alexander might act unilaterally.

“ You have no idea what sufferings the people at headquarters impose upon us! I cannot stand it much longer and the Emperor Francis is already ill. [The other leaders] are all mad and belong in the lunatic asylum. ”

—Metternich to Stadion (Palmer 1972, p. 116)

Metternich continued negotiations with the French envoy Caulaincourt throughout early to mid March 1814, when victory atLaon put the coalition back on the offensive. By this time Metternich was tiring of trying to hold the coalition together and even the British-engineered Treaty of Chaumont did not seem to help. In the absence of the Prussians and Russians the coalition agreed upon the restoration of the Bourbon dynasty to the French throne.

 Francis rejected a final plea from Napoleon to abdicate in favour of his wife, and Paris fell on 30 March. Military manoeuvres had forced Metternich to retreat westward to Dijon on 24 March and now, after a deliberate delay, Metternich left for the French capital on 7 April. He arrived on 10 April to a city at peace and, much to his annoyance, largely in the control of Tsar Alexander. The Austrians disliked the terms of the Treaty of Fontainebleau that the Russians had imposed on Napoleon in their absence, but Metternich was reluctant to take a stand on the issue and on 11 April signed the treaty. Thereafter his job was focused on safeguarding Austrian interests in the forthcoming peace; to assert Austria's influence in Germany over that of Prussia; and to prevent the ascendency of Tsar Alexander from becoming permanent. Within this he ensured that the Italian provinces of Lombardy and Venetia, lost to French client states in 1805, were duly re-annexed.

On the questions of dividing formerly French occupied Poland and Germany Metternich was far more confined by the interests of his coalition allies. After two failed proposals, advanced by the Prussians, the various delegations agreed to postpone the issue until after a peace treaty had been signed. Elsewhere, Metternich, like many of his counterparts, was anxious to provide the renewed French monarchy with the resources to suppress any new revolutionary spirit. The generous Treaty of Paris was signed on 30 May. With it went Metternich's need to stay in Paris and he accompanied Tsar Alexander to England; Wilhelmine, who had followed Metternich to Paris, also made the crossing. A triumphant Metternich filled his four weeks with revelry, regaining any reputation he and Austria had lost; he was also awarded an honorary law degree from the University of Oxford. By contrast and to Metternich's great pleasure, Alexander displayed bad manners and a penchant for gratuitous insults. Despite the opportunities presented, little actual diplomacy took place; instead, all that was firmly agreed was that proper discussions would take place at Vienna, for which a date was tentatively set of 15 August. When the tsar tried to postpone it to October Metternich agreed but, worried that the tsar was trying to capitalise on his de facto control of Poland, made sure suitable conditions were imposed. Metternich was eventually reunited with his family in Austria in the middle of July 1814, having stopped for a week in France to settle fears surrounding Napoleon's wife Marie Louise, now the Duchess of Parma. His return to Vienna was accompanied by a special cantata that included the line "History holds thee up to posterity as a model among great men".

 

 

Congress of Vienna Further information: Congress of Vienna

In the autumn of 1814 the heads of the five reigning dynasties and representatives from 216 noble families began to descend on Vienna. Before ministers from the "Big Four" (the coalition allies of Britain, Austria, Prussia and Russia) arrived, Metternich stayed quietly in Baden bei Wien, two hours to the south of the Austrian capital. When he heard they had reached Vienna he made the journey to meet them and to encourage them to come with him back to Baden. This proved unsuccessful; so instead the ministers resolved key differences in a series of four meetings held in the city itself. It was at these meetings that the representatives agreed on how the Congress would operate and, to Metternich's delight, named his own aide, Friedrich Gentz, as secretary to the negotiations of the "Big Six" (the Big Four plus France and Spain). When Talleyrand and Spanish representative Don Pedro Labrador learned of these decisions, they were incensed that some agreements would be negotiated by the Big Four only. Sweden and Portugal were similarly angered by their non-inclusion in anything but the full Congress, especially since Metternich was determined to give the latter as little power as possible. As a result the Big Six became the Preliminary Committee of the Eight, whose first agreement was that the congress itself should be postponed to 1 November. In fact, it would soon be postponed again, with only a minor commission beginning work in November. In the meantime, Metternich organised a controversially vast array of entertainments for all the delegates including himself.

Leaving Castlereagh to work out what Tsar Alexander sought to gain from the proceedings on his behalf, Metternich briefly turned his attention to quelling anti-Habsburg feeling in Italy, and not without success. Around the same time, however, he learnt that the Duchess of Sagan was now courting the tsar. Disappointed and exhausted by the full social diary, Metternich let his guard drop, incensing Tsar Alexander during negotiations over Poland (then ruled by Napoleon as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw) by suggesting Austria could match Russia militarily. The pair would never meet in person again. Despite the blunder, Francis refused to dismiss his foreign minister and political crisis rocked Vienna throughout November, culminating in a declaration by Tsar Alexander that Russia would not compromise on her demand that Poland become a satellite kingdom of the Russian Empire. With this demand completely unpalatable to his coalition allies, agreement seemed further away than ever. During the tense stand-off, it seems that Alexander even went as far as to challenge Metternich to a duel. Fortunately for the Austrian foreign minister, Tsar Alexander soon decided upon a rapid volte face and agreed to divide up Poland among the belligerents. He also opened up on the difficult issue of dealing with the Germanic Kingdom of Saxony, and for the first time allowed Talleyrand to participate in all Big Four (now Big Five) discussions.

As a result of the new consensus, the major issues concerning Poland and Germany were settled in the second week of February 1815. Austria gained land in the partition of Poland and prevented the Prussian annexation of Saxony, but was forced to accept both Russian dominance in Poland and increasing Prussian influence in Germany. Metternich's work was now focused on getting the various German states to agree to surrender some of their historic rights to a new Federal Diet that could stand up to the Prussians. He also assisted the work of the Swiss Committee and worked on a myriad of smaller issues, such as navigation rights on the Rhine. The beginning of Lent on 8 February meant that he had much more time to devote to these congressional issues, as well as private discussions about the fate of southern Italy where Joachim Murat was said to be raising a Neapolitan army. On 7 March Metternich was awakened with the news that Napoleon had absconded from his island prison of Elba and within an hour had met with both the tsar and the King of Prussia. Metternich was in no mood for rash changes of course and, at first, the development had little impact on the congress. Finally, on 13 March the Big Five declared Napoleon an outlaw and the coalition allies began preparations for a renewed fight. On 25 March they signed a new treaty, committing each to sending 150,000 men; there was little sign of the divisions that had characterised the alliance only two years before. With military commanders now drifting away, the Vienna congress gained a new air of seriousness and quickly fixed the boundaries of an independent Netherlands, formalised proposals for a loose confederation of Swiss cantons, and ratified the earlier agreements over Poland. By late April only two major issues remained, the organisation of a new German federation and the problem of Italy.

“ The ministers and representatives of the German princes sent to the congress continue to sing the praises of Prince Metternich... They admire the tact and circumspection with which he has handled the German committee. ”

—From the report of an agent of the Austrian intelligence service (Palmer 1972, pp. 147–148).

The latter soon began to come to a head. Austria had solidified its control over Lombardy-Venice and extended its protection to those provinces nominally under the control of Francis' daughter Marie Louise. On 18 April Metternich announced that Austria was formally at war with Murat's Naples. Austria was victorious at the Battle of Tolentino on 3 May and captured Naples less than three weeks later. Metternich then felt able to delay a decision on the future of the country until after Vienna; there was no longer any rush. Discussions about Germany would drag on until early June, when a joint Austrian-Prussian proposition was formally ratified. It left most constitutional issues to the new diet; its President would be the Emperor Francis himself. Despite criticism from within Austria, Metternich was pleased with the outcome and the amount of control it granted the Habsburgs, and, through them, himself. Certainly, Metternich would be able to use the diet to suit his own ends on numerous occasions. The arrangement was similarly popular with most German representatives. A summation treaty was signed on 19 June (the Russians signed a week later), bringing the Vienna Congress officially to an end. Metternich himself had already left on 13 June for the front line, prepared for a lengthy war against Napoleon. In fact there was no need as Napoleon was comprehensively beaten at the Battle of Waterloo on 18 June.

 

 

Hungarian diets, Alexander I's death and problems in Italy

Metternich, c. 1830

In the early 1820s, Metternich had advised Francis that reconvening the Hungarian Diet would be a good way to get approval for financial reform. In fact, the diet of 1825 to 1827 would see three hundred sessions filled with criticism of how the Empire had eroded the historic rights of the Kingdom of Hungary's nobility. Metternich complained that it "interfered with [his] time, [his] customs and [his] daily life", as he was forced to travel to Pressburg (modern day Bratislava) to perform his ceremonial duties and to observe. He found the growth in Hungarian national sentiment alarming and was wary of the growing influence of nationalist István Széchenyi, whom he had met twice in 1825. Back in Vienna, in mid-December, he heard of the death of Tsar Alexander with mixed feelings. He had known the Tsar well and his death reminded him of his own fallibility, though it did potentially wipe the soured diplomatic slate clean. Moreover, he could claim credit for prophesying the Decembristliberal revolt that the new Tsar Nicholas I had to crush. Now 53, Metternich chose to send Archduke Ferdinand to establish first contact with Nicholas. Metternich was also friendly with the British envoy (the Duke of Wellington) and enlisted his help to win Nicholas over. Despite this, the first eighteen months of Nicholas' reign did not go well for Metternich: firstly, it was established that the British would oversee Russian-Ottoman talks and not the Austrians; and, as a result, Metternich failed to exercise any influence over the resulting Akkerman Convention. France too began to drift away from Metternich's non-interventionist position on the issue. In August 1826 Russian Foreign Minister Nesselrode rejected a congress proposed by Metternich to discuss the events that would lead to the outbreak of civil war in Portugal. The Austrian foreign minister accepted his eclipse with "surprising resilience".

On 5 November 1827 Antoinette von Leykam became Metternich's second wife. She was only twenty; consequently, their marriage, a small affair at Hetzendorf (a village just outside Vienna), drew considerable criticism, though Antoinette's grace and charm soon won over Viennese society. The same day British, Russian and French forces sank the Ottoman fleet at the Battle of Navarino. Metternich worried that further intervention would topple the Ottoman Empire and hence upset the balance so carefully created in 1815. To Metternich's relief the new British Prime Minister Wellington and his cabinet were equally apprehensive of giving Russia the upper hand in the Balkans. After another round of his congress proposals were rejected, Metternich now stood back from the Eastern Question, watching as the Treaty of Adrianople was signed in September 1829. Though he publicly criticised it for being too harsh on Turkey, privately he was satisfied with its leniency and its promise that the new Greek state would be entirely autonomous, a buffer against Russian expansion rather than a Russian satellite state. Metternich's private life was filled with grief, however: in November 1828 his mother died; and in January 1829 Antoinette died, five days after giving birth to their son, Richard von Metternich. After fighting tuberculosis for many months, Metternich's son Viktor (already a junior diplomat) died on 30 November 1829. Consequently he spent Christmas alone and depressed, worried about the draconian methods of some of his fellow conservatives and the renewed march of liberalism.

“ My whole life's work is destroyed. ”

—Metternich on hearing of France's July Revolution (Palmer 1972, p. 246).

In May Metternich embarked on a much needed holiday to his estate at Johannisberg. He returned to Vienna a month later, still worried about the "chaos in London and Paris" and his declining ability to prevent it. Hearing Nesselrode was due to take the waters at Karlsbad, he set off to meet the Russian in late July. He berated the quiet Nesselrode, but fortunately no offence was taken and the two arranged a second meeting in August. In the interim Metternich heard of France's July Revolution which deeply shocked him, and theoretically gave automatic need of a congress of the Quadruple Alliance.

 Instead, Metternich met with Nesselrode as planned and, whilst the Russian rejected the Austrian's plan to restore the old Alliance, the pair agreed the chiffon of Karlsbad: that panic could be postponed until the new government showed territorial ambitions in Europe. Although pleased with this, Metternich's mood was soured by news of unrest in Brussels (then part of the Netherlands), the resignation of Wellington in London, and calls for constitutionality in Germany. He wrote with sombre and "almost morbid relish" that it was the "beginning of the end" of Old Europe. Nonetheless, he took heart from the fact that the July Revolution had made a Franco-Russian alliance impossible, and that the Netherlands had called an old-style congress of the sort Metternich enjoyed so much. The 1830 convocation of the Hungarian Diet also proved more successful, crowning Archduke Ferdinand as King of Hungary with little dissent. Moreover, by November his betrothal was completed to 25-year-old Melanie Zichy-Ferraris, who came from a Magyar family the Metternichs had long known. The announcement caused far less consternation in Vienna than Metternich's previous choice of bride had, and they were married on 30 January 1831.

In February 1831 rebels took the cities of Parma, Modena and Bologna, and appealed to France for help. Their former masters appealed for help from Austria, but Metternich was anxious not to march Austrian men into the Papal States without authorisation from the new Pope Gregory XVI. He occupied Parma and Modena, however, and would eventually cross into the Papal lands. As a result, Italy had been pacified by the end of March. He authorised Austrian troops to withdraw from the Papal States in July, but by January 1832 they were back to put down a second rebellion.

 By this time Metternich was noticeably ageing: his hair was grey, his face drawn and sunken, although his wife nonetheless enjoyed his company. In February 1832 a daughter, also Melanie, was born; in 1833 a son, Klemens, though he died aged two months; in October 1834 a second son, Paul; and in 1837 his third with Melanie, Lothar. Politically, Metternich had a new adversary, Lord Palmerston, who had taken over at the British Foreign Office in 1830. By the end of 1832 they had clashed on virtually every issue. "In short," Metternich wrote, "Palmerston is wrong about everything". Mostly, Metternich was annoyed by his insistence that under the 1815 agreements Britain had the right to oppose Austria's tightening of university controls in Germany, as Metternich had done again in 1832. Mtternich also worried that if future congresses were held in Britain, as Palmerston wanted, his own power would be significantly reduced.

According to Metternich, the liberal revolutions of the 1820s and '30s in Spain and parts of Italy and Germany were "unhistorical" and unrealistic. Liberals were engaged in a futile attempt to impose the English institutions of parliamentary government and constitutional monarchy in places where they had no historical roots; he insisted on the need for continuity with the past and orderly, organic development. Hence his sarcastic comments on the liberal revolutions in Naples and elsewhere, "A people who can neither read nor write, whose last word is the dagger — fine material for constitutional principles! ... The English constitution is the work of centuries ... There is no universal recipe for constitutions."

 

 

Revolution Further information: Revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas

Though Metternich was tiring in his old age, the memoranda kept pouring forth from his chancellery. Despite this he largely missed the building crisis. The new Pope Pius IX was attracting a reputation as a liberal nationalist to oppose Metternich and Austria; at the same time, the Empire was experiencing unemployment and rising prices as a result of poor harvests. Metternich was suitably bemused at the outcry from Italians, the Pope and Palmerston when he ordered the occupation of Papal-controlled Ferrara in the summer of 1847. It would prove to be just the beginning. Despite securing French agreement for the first time in many years from François Guizot over the Swiss Civil War, they were forced into backing breakaway cantons. The pair proposed a conference, but soon there was no need: the government had crushed the revolt. It was a major blow to Metternich's prestige, and his opponents in Vienna would seize upon the whole affair as evidence of his incompetence. In January 1848 Metternich predicted trouble in Italy during the year ahead.

 He responded to this growing threat by dispatching an envoy, Karl Ludwig von Ficquelmont to Italy; by resurrecting his 1817 plans for an Italian chancellery and by pre-arranging various contingency plans with the French. In late February Austrian Field Marshal Joseph Radetsky placed the Austrian holding in Italy (Lombardy-Venetia) in a state of martial law as disturbances spread. Despite this and hearing of renewed revolution in France, Metternich was not about to be drawn into overhasty action; he still considered domestic revolution unlikely. Nonetheless, he was described by a Saxon diplomat as, in the words of biographer Musulin, "having shrunk to a shadow of his former self".

“ I am no longer anybody... I have nothing more to do, nothing more to discuss. ”

—Metternich after resigning (Palmer 1972, p. 313).

On 3 March Kossuth, speaking in the Hungarian Diet, gave a fiery speech calling for a constitution. Nonetheless, it was not until 10 March that Metternich appeared concerned about events in Vienna itself, where there were now threats and counter-threats flying. Two petitions were organised calling for greater freedom, transparency, and representation. Students were involved in several demonstrations, culminating on 13 March, when they cheered the royal family but voiced anger towards Metternich. Having continued as usual through the morning, soon after midday Metternich was called to meet with Archduke Ludwig.

 The chancellor had troops sent onto the streets, whilst also announcing a prearranged but minimal concession. In the afternoon the crowd turned hostile, however, and a division of troops opened fire on it, killing five. The mob was now truly incited as the liberals were joined by underprivileged Viennese set on wreaking havoc. The students offered to form a pro-government Academic Legion if their demands were met. Ludwig was eager to accept and told Metternich he must resign, to which he reluctantly agreed. After sleeping in the chancellery he was advised to either take back his resignation or leave the city. After Ludwig sent him a message to the effect that the government could not guarantee his safety, Metternich left first for the house of Count Taaffe and then, with aid from friends Charles von Hügel and Johann Rechberg, travelled on to the family seat of Prince Liechtenstein—forty miles from Vienna at Feldsberg. Metternich's daughter Leontine joined them on 21 March and suggested England as a place of haven; agreeing, Metternich, Melanie and 19-year-old Richard set out across Europe, leaving the younger children with Leontine. Metternich's resignation had been met with cheering in Vienna, and even the Viennese commoners welcomed the end of Metternich's era of social conservatism.

 

 

Exile, return and death

Prince Metternich in old age

After an anxious journey lasting nine days, during which they were variously honoured and refused entry to various towns, Metternich, his wife and son Richard arrived in the Dutch city of Arnhem. There they stayed whilst Metternich regained his strength, before travelling on to Amsterdam and the Hague, where they waited to hear of the results of a demonstration by English chartists, planned for 10 April. On 20 April they landed at Blackwall in London, where they would stay in the comfort of the Brunswick Hotel in Hanover Square for a fortnight until they found a permanent residence. Metternich largely enjoyed his time in London: the Duke of Wellington, now nearly eighty, tried to keep him entertained and there were also visits from Palmerston, Guizot (now also in exile) and Benjamin Disraeli, who enjoyed his talks on European politics. The sole disappointment was that Victoria herself had not acknowledged his presence in the capital. The trio leased a house, 44 Eaton Square, for four months. The younger children joined them in the summer. He followed events in Austria from afar, famously denying ever having erred; in fact, he declared the turmoil in Europe to be vindication of his policies. In Vienna, however, a hostile post-censorship press continued to attack him; in particular, they accused him of embezzlement and accepting bribes, prompting the authorities there to investigate. Gradually investigators cleared Metternich of the more extreme charges and would evidently abandon the search for evidence for the more minor ones empty handed, though nothing was ever proven. (In all likelihood Metternich's large expense claims were merely a product of the necessities of early 19th century diplomacy.) In the meantime, as he was denied his pension, Metternich was ironically reliant on loans.

In mid-September the family moved to 42 Brunswick Terrace, Brighton, on the south coast of England where they found a tranquillity that contrasted greatly with the revolutionary Europe they had left behind. Parliamentary figures, particularly Disraeli, travelled down to visit them, as did Metternich's former friend Dorothea Lieven (Melanie led a reconciliation between the two). Expecting a visit from Metternich's daughter Leontine, and her own daughter Pauline, the family moved to a suite of rooms at Richmond Palace on 23 April 1849. Visitors included: Wellington, who still watched out for Metternich; Johann Strauss, the Austrian composer; Dorothea de Dino, the sister of former lover Wilhemine of Sagan; and former lover Katharina Bagration. Metternich was however showing his age and his frequent fainting attracted a great deal of worry. The ex-chancellor was also depressed by the lack of communication from new Emperor Franz Joseph I or his government. Leontine wrote to Vienna to try to secure this contact and in August Metternich received a warm letter from Franz Joseph; whether sincere or not, it buoyed Metternich considerably. From mid-August Melanie began to push for a move to Brussels, a city cheaper to live in and closer to continental affairs. They arrived in October, overnighting in the Hotel Bellevue. With revolution subsiding, Metternich was hopeful they would soon be back in Vienna once more. Their stay would in fact last over 18 months, whilst Metternich waited for the perfect opportunity to launch himself back into Austrian politics. It was a pleasant enough (and cheap) stay, first in the Boulevard de l'Observatoire and later in the Sablons/Zavel area—filled with visits from politicians, writers, musicians and scientists. For Metternich, however, the tedium and homesickness only increased. In March 1851 Melanie induced him to write to the new political force in Vienna, Prince Schwarzenberg, to ask if he might return if he promised not to interfere in public affairs. In April he received an affirmative reply, authorised by Franz Joseph.

In May 1851 Metternich duly left for his Johannisberg estate, which he had last visited in 1845. Whilst staying there for the summer Metternich enjoyed the company of Prussian representative Otto von Bismarck. He also enjoyed a visit from Frederick William, though the king irritated Metternich by appearing to nurture him as a tool against Schwarzenberg. In September he returned to Vienna and on the journey the various German princes were keen to entertain the focus of Prussian intrigue. Metternich was reinvigorated, dropping his nostalgia and living in the present for the first time in a decade. Franz Josef asked for his advice on numerous issues (though he was too headstrong to be much influenced by it) and both of the two factions now emerging in Vienna were keen to get Metternich on side; even Tsar Nicholas called on him during a state visit. Metternich was not keen on the new Foreign Minister,Karl Ferdinand von Buol, but at least Buol was sufficiently incompetent that he would be impressionable. Metternich's advice was of varying quality; nonetheless, some of it did give useful insights, even over modern matters. Now deaf, Metternich wrote endlessly; particularly for an appreciative Franz Josef. He wanted Austrian neutrality in the Crimean War, though Buol did not. In the meantime Metternich's health was slowly failing and he became a more peripheral figure after the death of his wife Melanie in January 1854. After a brief resurgence in energy in early 1856, he busied himself in the arrangements for a marriage between his son Richard and his granddaughter Pauline (Richard's step-sister's daughter) and undertook more travel. The King of the Belgians came to visit him, as did Bismarck, and on 16 August 1857 he entertained the future Edward VII of the United Kingdom. Buol, however, was becoming more resentful Metternich's advice, particularly over Italy. In April 1859 Franz Josef came to ask him about what should be done in Italy. According to Pauline, Metternich begged him not to send an ultimatum to Italy and Franz Josef explained that such an ultimatum had already been sent.

In this way, much to Metternich's disappointment and to Franz Josef's embarrassment, Austria began the Second Italian War of Independence against the combined forces of Piedmont-Sardinia and her ally France. Though Metternich could secure the replacement of Buol with his friend Rechberg, who had helped him so much in 1848, the war itself was now beyond his capacity. Even a special task given by Franz Josef in June 1859—to draw up secret papers handling the event of Franz Josef's death—was now too taxing for Metternich. Shortly afterwards he died in Vienna on 11 June 1859, aged 86, and the last of his generation. Almost everyone of note in Vienna came to pay their tributes to him; however, in the foreign press his death went virtually unnoticed.

 

 

Legacy

Over a century-and-a-half later a sparkling wine was named after Metternich, Fürst von Metternich Riesling Sekt, and his image was selected as the main motif on the Austrian 20-euroBiedermeier Period commemorative coin minted on 11 June 2003. The reverse of the coin shows his portrait with the map of Europe that was redrawn at the Congress of Vienna after the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte.

 

 

Historical assessment

 

Particularly in the 19th century, Metternich was heavily criticised, decried as the man who prevented Austria and the rest of central Europe from "developing along 'normal' liberal and constitutional lines". If Metternich had not stood in the way of (in their view) progress, Austria might have reformed, dealt with the problems of nationality better, and the First World Warmay never have happened. Instead, Metternich chose to fight an overwhelmingly fruitless (and potentially counter-productive) war against the forces of liberalism and nationalism. Heavy censorship was just one of a range of repressive instruments of state available to him that also included a large spy network. He also opposed electoral reform, heavily criticising the British Reform Bill introduced in 1830. In short, he locked himself in an embittered battle against "the prevailing mood of his age".

On the other hand, Metternich's credentials as a diplomat and statesman were the focus of praise in the twentieth century from more favourable historians, particularly biographer Heinrich von Srbik. For example, particularly after the Second World War, historians were more likely to defend Metternich's policies as reasonable attempts to achieve his own goals i.e. the defence of the balance of power in Europe. More sympathetic historians highlight that Metternich correctly foresaw and worked to prevent Russian dominance in Europe, succeeding where his forebears would fail 130 years later. As argued by Srbik, Metternich himself pursued legality, cooperation and dialogue, and therefore helped ensure 30 years of peace, the "Age of Metternich". In the works of authors such as Peter Viereck and Ernst B. Haas Metternich also gains credit for many of his more liberal ideals, even if they did not come to much.

These views presuppose that Metternich had the ability to favourably shape Europe, but chose not to. More modern critiques, such as that included in the work of A. J. P. Taylor, have questioned just how much influence Metternich really had. Robin Okey, a critic of Metternich, noted that even in the realm of foreign affairs Metternich "had only his own persuasiveness to rely on", and this degraded over time. On this reading, his job was to create a "smokescreen" that hid Austria's true weakness. When it came to choosing a set of sound principles, wrote Taylor, "most men could do better while shaving". 

The result was that Metternich was no captivating diplomatic force: Taylor described him as "the most boring man in European history". Not only were his failures limited to foreign affairs, critics argue: at home he was equally powerless, failing to push through even his own proposals for administrative reform.By comparison, those who have attempted to rehabilitate Metternich describe him as "unquestionably [a] master of diplomacy", someone who "perfected" and indeed shaped the nature of diplomacy in his era. In a similar vein, Alan Sked argues that Metternich's "smokescreen" may well have served a purpose in furthering a relatively coherent set of principles.

 

 

Children

Metternich had the following children (names are untranslated):

With Eleonore:

• Maria Leopoldina (1797–1820)
• Franz Karl Johann Georg (1798–1799)
• Klemens Eduard (1799–1799)
• Franz Karl Viktor Ernst Lothar Clemens Joseph Anton Adam (1803–1829)
• Klementine Marie Octavie (1804–1820)
• Leontine Adelheid Maria Pauline (1811–1861), mother of Pauline von Metternich (1836-1921)
• Hermine Gabriele (Henrietta) Marie Eleonore Leopoldine (1815–1890)

With Antoinette:

• Richard Klemens Josef Lothar Hermann (1829–1895), husband of Pauline von Metternich

With Melanie: Two daughters, three sons

• Melanie Marie Pauline Alexandrine (1832–1919)
• Klemens (1833–1833)
• Paul Klemens Lothar (1834–1906)
• Maria Emilia Stephania (1836–1836)
• Lothar Stephan August Klemens Maria (1837–1904)

With Katharina Bagration (illegitimate, acknowledged):

• Marie-Klementine Bagration (1802–1884)