page_title: Revolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Empire
section_title: Counterrevolution
hierarchical_section_title: Revolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Empire / Revolution in the Austrian lands / Counterrevolution
caption_attribution_description: Portrait of Franz Joseph I of Austria (1830-1916)
context_page_description: A set of revolutions took place in the Austrian Empire from March 1848 to November 1849. Much of the revolutionary activity had a nationalist character: the Empire, ruled from Vienna, included ethnic Germans, Hungarians, Slovenes, Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Ruthenians, Romanians, Croats, Venetians and Serbs; all of whom attempted in the course of the revolution to either achieve autonomy, independence, or even hegemony over other nationalities. The nationalist picture was further complicated by the simultaneous events in the German states, which moved toward greater German national unity.
  Besides these nationalists, liberal and even socialist currents resisted the Empire's longstanding conservatism.
context_section_description: Insurgents quickly lost in street fighting to King Ferdinand's troops led by General Radetzky, prompting several liberal government ministers to resign in protest.  Ferdinand, now restored to power in Vienna, appointed conservatives in their places.  These actions were a considerable blow to the revolutionaries, and by August most of northern Italy was under Radetzky's control.
  In Bohemia, the leaders of both the German and Czech nationalist movements were both constitutional monarchists, loyal to the Habsburg Emperor.  Only a few days after the Emperor reconquered northern Italy, Alfred I, Prince of Windisch-Grätz took provocative measures in Prague to prompt street fighting.  Once the barricades went up, he led Habsburg troops to crush the insurgents.  After having taken back the city, he imposed martial law, ordered the Prague National Committee dissolved, and sent delegates to the "Pan-Slavic" Congress home.  These events were applauded by German nationalists, who failed to understand that the Habsburg military would crush their own national movement as well.
  Attention then turned to Hungary. War in Hungary again threatened imperial rule and prompted Emperor Ferdinand and his court to once more flee Vienna.  Viennese radicals welcomed the arrival of Hungarian troops as the only force able to stand up against the court and ministry.  The radicals took control of the city for only a short period of time.  Windisch-Grätz led soldiers from Prussia to quickly defeat the insurgents.  Windisch-Grätz restored imperial authority to the city.  The reconquering of Vienna was seen as a defeat over German nationalism.  At this point, Ferdinand I named the noble Prince Felix of Schwarzenberg head of government. Schwarzenberg, a consummate statesman, persuaded the feeble-minded Ferdinand to abdicate the throne to his 18-year-old nephew, Franz Joseph.  Parliamentarians continued to debate, but had no authority on state policy.
  Both the Czech and Italian revolutions were defeated by the Habsburgs. Prague was the first victory of counter-revolution in the Austrian Empire.
  Lombardy-Venetia was quickly brought back under Austrian rule in the mainland, even because popular support for the revolution vanished: revolutionary ideals were often limited to part of middle and upper classes, which failed both to gain "hearts and minds" of lower classes and to convince the population about Italian nationalism. Most part of lower classes indeed were quite indifferent, and actually most part of Lombard and Venetian troops remained loyal. The only widespread support to the revolution was in the cities of Milan and Venice, with the Republic of San Marco lasting under siege until 28th of August, 1849.
caption: A young Emperor Franz Joseph
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