The Erfurt
Union 1849
The Treaty of
Olmutz 1850
The
1849
1850
 AlsoErfurt
known as Union
the League
of the -Three
Kings.
 Started by Frederick William IV of Prussia
along with the kings of Saxony and
Hanover.
 27 states eventually joined and it became
the Erfurt Union.
 It was an attempt by the rulers to have a
form of unification on their terms.
 It had a limited constitution and
parliament, though not a very liberal one.
 NOT a unified state - more of an alternative
to the Bund.
Austrian Recovery
 By
1850, revolution had subsided in the
Austrian Empire.
 The Austrians had a new Chancellor –
Schwartzenberg.
 This meant that Austria was once again in
a position to intervene in German affairs.
 The Russians made clear that they would
support Austria in any war to end the
Erfurt Union threat.
The Treaty of Olmutz 1850
 Also
known as the ‘Humiliation of Olmutz’
by the Prussians.
 At a meeting at Olmutz in 1850 the Bund
was re-convened as it had been before 1848
and Prussia was forced to dissolve the
Erfurt Union.
 This
marked a swing in the balance of
power back towards Austria, as the Bund
was fully reinstated with Austria back in its
dominant role as President and actively
working against unification.
 Prussia was not yet ready to challenge
Austria militarily or in terms of leadership
and create a Kleindeutschland – that would
not come until the 1860s.