The Baden Revolution
On 23rd July 1849, the dream of a democratic order in Germany comes to an end for over 5,500 revolutionaries in the besieged fortress of Rastatt. Their Prussian opponents emerged victorious with the third and last Baden uprising ending in a hail of bullets. Nineteen revolutionaries were shot in Rastatt alone, while many more died in custody – often while trying to escape.
Despite – or precisely because of this – Rastatt is synonymous with the struggle for a free Imperial Constitution. It was only when the Weimar Constitution, and subsequently the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany, were adopted that the men and women who failed to achieve their ideals in 1848/49 were finally rehabilitated.
But what exactly happened in Rastatt and Baden in the summer of 1849?
First of all, one must imagine the "Rastatt Fortress" as being much larger than the palace area, encompassing the entire town area.
- May 9th and 10th, 1849: Soldiers and revolutionary citizens become allies. Among them are many famous Rastatt citizens such as Franz Comlossi and Mayor Ludwig Sallinger, marking the beginning of the revolution in Rastatt.
- May 1849: A 16-point program setting out the new political order is adopted at a people’s assembly in Offenburg. On the same evening, the revolutionary Amand Goegg announces these resolutions from the balcony of Rastatt City Hall.
- 13th and 14th May, 1849: Grand Duke Leopold – the ruler of Baden at the time – flees Karlsruhe, fearing the revolution.
- May 1849: The allied soldiers and vigilantes are sworn to uphold the new Imperial Constitution in Rastatt. The revolutionaries take over the government in Karlsruhe.
- 25th June 1849: Karlsruhe is occupied by the Prussians and the revolutionaries flee to Freiburg and Rastatt.
- 29th and 30th June, 1849: Heavy fighting takes place along the River Murg, Rastatt is besieged.
- 7th July 1849: First night-time bombardment of Rastatt.
- 11th and 12th July, 1849: Rastatt is the last remaining revolutionary base in Baden.
- 23rd July 1849: Three weeks later, the revolutionaries capitulate in Rastatt. The Baden Revolution has failed.
The 13 Demands
Although the revolution failed, the revolutionaries laid the foundations for our current democracy with their fight for freedom and justice.
The revolutionaries aimed to overthrow princely rule, preferring a Baden republic in which the people were to rule, not the Grand Duchy. One year before the revolution in Offenburg, the citizens made 13 demands – ones that remain particularly important to our modern-day lives. For this reason, the Revolutionary Trail now highlights these 13 demands.
But what exactly did the revolutionaries demand?
"We demand...
- The end of the Carlsbad, Frankfurt and Vienna resolutions!
- Freedom of the press!
- Freedom of conscience and academic freedom!
- Oath of the military to the Constitution!
- Personal freedom!
- Representation of the people at the German Confederation!
- A popular military constitution!
- Fair taxation!
- Education for everybody!
- Bridging the gap between labor and capital!
- Jury courts!
- A popular state administration!
- The abolition of all privileges!"
Source: Articles 1 to 13 of the Offenburg "Demands of the People" in the original wording from the 1847 pamphlet.
