Saturday 16 January 2016

Hambach and Frankfurt, important steps to democracy (Germany)

In 1832 people from France, Germany and Poland came together at the Hambach Castle to celebrate the Hambach Festival. They demanded democracy, freedom and the German Unity. It was one of the most important events in the era of the Vormärz.

Today is the Hambach Castle a symbol of the struggle for civil liberties in Europe. The Hambach Castle got the European Heritage Label in 2014.


Official European Heritage Label card in Czech

In the course of the March Revolution of 1848 the Frankfurt Parliament was elected. It was the first freely elected parliament for all of Germany. Its members were sent by the governments of the states of the German Confederation. It came together in the St. Paul's Church in Frankfurt am Main and produced the Frankfurt Constitution, which proclaimed a German Empire based on the principles of parliamentary democracy. The new constitution was not accepted by the Prussian King and various states of the German Confederation. Soon after the states withdrew their delegates and the parliament was dissolved. The last members of the parliament flew to Stuttgart to found another parliament, which was dissolved a few weeks later by the military of Württemberg.


On 7th May 1998 a souvenir sheet was issued which celebrated the 150th anniversary of the Frankfurt Constitution together with the 50th anniversary of the Parliamentary Council.


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