Frankfurt Parliament facts for kids

The Frankfurt Assembly Paulskirche

The Frankfurt Parliament (German: Frankfurter Nationalversammlung, literally Frankfurt National Assembly) was the first freely elected parliament for all of Germany. Session was held from May 18, 1848 to May 31, 1849 in the Paulskirche, Frankfurt|Paulskirche at Frankfurt am Main. It was elected during the "March Revolution" in the states of the German Confederation.

The assembly produced the so-called Paulskirche Constitution (German: Paulskirchenverfassung, actually Verfassung des Deutschen Reiches) which proclaimed a German Empire based on the principles of parliamentary democracy. This constitution fulfilled the main demands of the liberal and nationalist movements of the Vormärz and provided a foundation of human rights. The parliament also proposed a constitutional monarchy headed by a hereditary emperor (Kaiser). The Prussian king Friedrich Wilhelm IV did not accept the office of emperor when it was offered to him. He argued such an offer was an offence against the rights of the princes of the individual German states. In the 20th century, however, major elements of the Frankfurt constitution became models for the Weimar Constitution of 1919 and the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany of 1949.

• William Carr: A History of Germany, 1815-1945. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1969.
• Frank Eyck: Frankfurt Parliament, 1969 ISBN: 0-312-30345-9
• Rosemary O’Kane: Paths to Democracy: Revolution and Totalitarianism. New York: Routeledge. 2004. pgs 96-98.
• Brian E. Vick: Defining Germany: The 1848 Frankfurt Parliamentarians and National Identity (Harvard University Press, 2002). ISBN: 978-0-674-00911-0 – ISBN: 0-674-00911-8

Images for kids

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  Memorial plaque on the Paulskirche, Frankfurt

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  Seating arrangements of the deputies in the Paulskirche

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  Contemporary depiction of the parliamentarians entering the Paulskirche

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  Germania. The painting hung inside the Paulskirche above where the Frankfurt Parliament assembled, covering the organ of Frankfurt.

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  Lithograph "Club des Casino" by Friedrich Pecht, 1849.

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  Archduke John arrives in Frankfurt, 10 July 1848

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  Election of Archduke John of Austria 1848 as Imperial Regent (Reichsverweser) by the Frankfurt Parliament. Medal by Karl Radnitzky, obverse.

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  Election of Archduke John of Austria 1848 as Imperial Regent (Reichsverweser) by the Frankfurt Parliament. Medal by Karl Radnitzky, reverse showing the German double-headed Imperial Eagle.

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  Proclamation of Archduke John as Reichverweser; 15 July 1848

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  Contemporary wood engraving depicting the Kaiserdeputation

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  The Halbmondsaal at Stuttgart Ständekammer, venue of the first rump parliament meeting. Lithograph by Gustav Renz.

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  Dr. Maximilian Grävell, fourth Prime Minister

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  Contemporary depiction of the dissolution of the rump parliament on 18 June 1849: Württemberg dragoons dispersing the locked-out deputies

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  Caricature of Frederick William IV's rejection of the imperial crown; lithograph after a drawing by Isidor Popper.

See also

In Spanish: Parlamento de Fráncfort para niños