The Kroměříž Parliament – Kroměříž

Fact of the Czech figure „The Birth of a Political Nation”

Part of the „Revolutions of 1848″ topic

The revolutionary year of 1848 also hit the Habsburg monarchy considerably and Emperor Ferdinand was forced to promise a constitution. The promulgated constitution sparked outrage and the imperial family and court were forced to flee Vienna. The Constituent Assembly tasked with drafting a new constitution convened in July 1848. Following a wave of unrest in the capital of the monarchy, the Austrian Reichstag relocated to Kroměříž (germ. Kremsier), where discussions on reorganising the monarchy took place.

Several factors influenced the choice of this location, such as the rural character of the town, which eliminated the risk of protesting radicals, the presence of the Archbishop’s Palace with an adequately large hall and the proximity to the Imperial court stationed in Olomouc. In December 1848, the discredited Emperor Ferdinand abdicated, and the 18-year-old Franz Joseph I, who was not bound by his uncle’s constitutional promises, ascended to the throne. In March 1849, the army dissolved the Diet of Kroměříž, thereby enabling the Habsburgs to reassume full control. The new Emperor then proceeded to promulgate his own constitution, which was never put into practice.

Today, several memorial plaques on buildings in Kroměříž commemorate the significant figures who participated in the Parliament.