Klemens von Metternich

Early life

Klemens Metternich was born into the old Rhenish House of Metternich on 15 May 1773 to Franz Georg Karl Count of Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein (1746–1818), a diplomat who had passed from the service of the Electorate of Trier to that of the Imperial court, and his wife Countess Maria Beatrix Aloisia von Kageneck (1755–1828). He was named in honour of Prince Clemens Wenceslaus of Saxony, the archbishop-elector of Trier and the past employer of his father. He was the eldest son and had one older sister Pauline (1772–1855), wife of Duke Ferdinand Frederick Augustus of Württemberg. At the time of his birth, the family possessed a ruined keep at Beilstein, a castle at Winneberg, an estate west of Koblenz, and another in Königswart, Bohemia, won during the 17th century. At this time Metternich's father, described as "a boring babbler and chronic liar" by a contemporary, was the Austrian ambassador to the courts of the three Rhenish electors (Trier, Cologne and Mainz). Metternich's education was handled by his mother, heavily influenced by their proximity to France; Metternich spoke French better than German. As a child he went on official visits with his father and, under the direction of Protestant tutor John Frederick Simon, was tutored in academic subjects, swimming, and horsemanship.

In mid-1788, Metternich began studying law at the University of Strasbourg, matriculating on 12 November. While a student he was for some time accommodated by Prince Maximilian of Zweibrücken, the future King of Bavaria. At this time he was described by Simon as "happy, handsome and lovable", though contemporaries would later recount how he had been a liar and a braggart. Metternich left Strasbourg in September 1790 to attend Leopold II's October coronation in Frankfurt, where he performed the largely honorific role of Ceremonial Marshal to the Catholic Bench of the College of the Counts of Westphalia. There, under the wing of his father, he met with the future Francis II.

Between the end of 1790 and mid-1792 Metternich studied law at the University of Mainz, receiving a more conservative education than at Strasbourg, a city unsafe to return to due to the unfolding French Revolution, which had begun in 1789. In the summers he worked with his father, who had been appointed plenipotentiary and effective ruler of the Austrian Netherlands. In March 1792 Francis succeeded as Holy Roman Emperor and was crowned in July, affording Metternich a reprise of his earlier role of Ceremonial Marshal.

In the meantime France had declared war on Austria, beginning the War of the First Coalition (1792–97) and making Metternich's further study in Mainz impossible. Now in the employment of his father, he was sent on a special mission to the front. Here he led the interrogation of the French Minister of War the Marquis de Beurnonville and several accompanying National Convention commissioners. Metternich observed the siege and fall of Valenciennes, later looking back on these as substantial lessons about warfare. In early 1794 he was sent to England, ostensibly on official business helping Viscount Desandrouin, the Treasurer-General of the Austrian Netherlands, to negotiate a loan.

Marriage and the Congress of Rastatt

In England, he met King George III on several occasions and dined with a number of influential British politicians, including William Pitt, Charles James Fox and Edmund Burke. He also dined with the renowned composer Joseph Haydn and his impresario Johann Peter Salomon after seeing several of their concerts at Hanover Square. It was at one of these concerts where he recognized his one-time teacher, Andreas Hofmann in the audience who went to spy on England for the French. Metternich was nominated the new Minister Plenipotentiary to the Austrian Netherlands and left England in September 1794. On arrival, he found an exiled and powerless government in a headlong retreat from the latest French advance. In October a revitalised French army swept into Germany and annexed all of the Metternich estates except Königswart. Disappointed, and affected by strong criticism of his father's policies, he joined his parents in Vienna in November. On 27 September 1795 he married Countess Eleonore von Kaunitz-Rietberg (1775–1825), daughter of Ernst Christoph, Fürst von Kaunitz-Rietberg (1737–1797) and Princess Maria Leopoldine zu Oettingen-Spielberg (1741–1795), a granddaughter of former Austrian chancellor Wenzel Anton, Prince of Kaunitz-Rietberg. The marriage was arranged by Metternich's mother and introduced him to Viennese society. This was undoubtedly part of the motivation for Metternich, who demonstrated less affection for her than she for him. Two conditions were imposed by the father of the bride, Prince Kaunitz: first, the still youthful Eleonore was to continue to live at home; and second, Metternich was forbidden from serving as a diplomat as long as the Prince was still alive. Their daughter Maria was born in January 1797.

After Metternich's studies in Vienna, the Prince's death in September 1797 allowed Metternich to participate in the Congress of Rastatt. Initially his father, who headed the imperial delegation, took him as a secretary while ensuring that, when proceedings officially started in December 1797, he was named the representative of the Catholic Bench of the College of the Counts of Westphalia. A bored Metternich remained at Rastatt in this role until 1799 when the congress was finally wound down. During this period Eleonore had chosen to live with Metternich at Rastatt and gave birth to sons Francis (February 1798) and, shortly after the end of the Congress, Klemens (June 1799). Much to Metternich's anguish, Klemens died after only a few days, and Francis soon contracted a lung infection from which he would never recover.

Ambassador

Dresden and Berlin

The Holy Roman Empire's defeat in the War of the Second Coalition shook up diplomatic circles, and the promising Metternich was now offered a choice between three ministerial positions: to the Imperial Diet at Regensburg; to the Kingdom of Denmark at Copenhagen; or to the Electorate of Saxony at Dresden. He chose Dresden in late January 1801, and his appointment was officially announced in February. Metternich summered in Vienna, where he wrote his "Instructions", a memorandum showing a much greater understanding of statesmanship than his earlier writing. He visited the Königswart estate in the autumn before taking up his new position on 4 November. The subtleties of the memorandum were lost on the Saxon court, which was headed by the retiring Frederick Augustus I, a man with little political initiative. Despite the boredom of the court, Metternich enjoyed the light-hearted frivolity of the city and took up a mistress, Princess Katharina Bagration-Mukhranska, who bore him a daughter, Marie-Clementine. In January 1803 Metternich and his wife had a child whom they named Viktor. In Dresden Metternich also made a number of important contacts including Friedrich Gentz, a publicist who would serve Metternich as both confidant and critic for the next thirty years. He also established links with important Polish and French political figures.

To compensate for the loss of the Metternich's ancestral estates in the Moselle valley when the French Republic annexed the west bank of the Rhine, the Imperial Recess of 1803 brought Metternich's family new estates in Ochsenhausen with Sovereign powers, the title of Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, and a seat in the Imperial Diet. In the ensuing diplomatic reshuffle Metternich was appointed ambassador to the Kingdom of Prussia, being notified of this in February 1803 and taking his position in November of that year.

He arrived in Prussia at a critical juncture in European diplomacy, soon growing worried about the territorial ambitions of Napoleon Bonaparte, newly the leader of France. This fear was shared by the Russian court under Alexander I, and the Tsar kept Metternich informed of Russian policy. By autumn of 1804 Vienna decided on action entered into in August 1805 when the Austrian Empire (as the Habsburg monarchy was in the process of becoming) began its involvement in the War of the Third Coalition. Metternich's now almost impossible task was to convince Prussia to join the coalition against Bonaparte. Their eventual agreement was not due to Metternich, however, and after the coalition's defeat at the Battle of Austerlitz, Prussia disregarded the agreement and signed a treaty with the French instead.

Paris

In the ensuing reshuffle in Vienna Johann Philipp Stadion, Count von Warthausen became the Foreign Minister of Austrian Empire, freeing Metternich to assume the post of Ambassador to the Russian Empire. He never made it to Russia, as need had arisen for a new Austrian at the French court. Metternich was approved for the post in June 1806. He enjoyed being in demand and was happy to be sent to France on a generous salary of 90,000 florins a year. After an arduous trip he took up residence in August 1806, being briefed by Baron von Vincent and Engelbert von Floret, whom he would retain as a close adviser for two decades. He met French foreign minister Prince Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord on 5 August and Napoleon himself five days later at the Château de Saint-Cloud. Metternich's wife and children joined him in October, and he went into Paris society, using his charm to win great eminence there. The presence of Eleonore did not prevent him from a series of affairs, with known or at least generally-suspected partners including Princess Caroline Murat and Laure Junot.

The War of the Fourth Coalition drew both Talleyrand and Napoleon eastwards. After the Treaties of Tilsit of July 1807 Metternich saw that Austria's position in Europe was much more vulnerable but believed the accord between Russia and France would not last. In the meantime he found the new French Foreign Minister, Jean-Baptiste Champagny unaccommodating and struggled to negotiate a satisfactory settlement over the future of several French forts on the River Inn. Over the following months the reach of Austrian policy, and Metternich's own reputation, increased.

In a memorable event, Metternich argued with Napoleon at Napoleon's 39th birthday celebrations in August 1808 over the increasingly obvious preparations for war on both sides. Soon after, Napoleon refused Metternich's attendance at the Congress of Erfurt. Metternich was later glad to hear from Talleyrand that Napoleon's attempts at the Congress to get Russia to invade Austria had proved unsuccessful.

In a report to Stadion, Metternich the ambassador concluded that the House of Hohenzollern had been relegated and that Austria's situation had worsened. The Confederation of the Rhine was hostile to Austria and a military conflict with France would have to be fought on two fronts between the Weichsel river and the Inn river. Metternich continued to oppose a war with France and pointed out that the government in Vienna only needed to wait, as Napoleon had no plans for his own succession.

Foreign minister

Détente with France

Now back in Austria, Metternich witnessed first hand the Austrian army's defeat at the Battle of Wagram in 1809. Stadion tendered his resignation as Foreign Minister in the aftermath, and the emperor immediately offered the post to Metternich. Metternich, worried that Napoleon would seize on this to demand harsher peace terms, instead agreed to become a minister of state (which he did on 8 July) and to lead negotiations with the French on the understanding that he would replace Stadion as Foreign Minister at a later date. During peace talks at Altenburg, Metternich put forward pro-French proposals to save the Austrian monarchy. Napoleon, however, disliked his position on the future of Poland, and Metternich was gradually displaced from the proceedings by Prince Liechtenstein. He soon regained influence, however, on 8 October, as Foreign Minister (and additionally that of Minister of the Imperial Household). In early 1810 Metternich's earlier affair with Junot became public but, because of Eleonore's understanding, the scandal was minimal.

One of Metternich's first tasks was to push for the marriage of Napoleon to Archduchess Marie Louise rather than to the Tsar's youngest sister Anna Pavlovna. Metternich would later seek to distance himself from the marriage by claiming it was Napoleon's own idea, but this is improbable; in any case, he was happy to claim responsibility at the time. By 7 February Napoleon had agreed and the pair were married by proxy on 11 March. Marie Louise left for France soon after and Metternich followed by a different route and unofficially. The trip was designed, Metternich explained, to transport his family (stranded in France by the outbreak of war) home and to report to the Austrian Emperor about Marie Louise's activities.

Instead, Metternich stayed six months, entrusting his office in Vienna to his father. He set about using the marriage, and flattery, to renegotiate the terms set out in the Treaty of Schönbrunn. The concessions he won were trivial, however: a few trading rights, delay in the payment of the war indemnity, restitution of some estates belonging to Germans in the Austrian service, including the Metternich family's, and the lifting of a 150,000-man limit on the Austrian army. The last was particularly welcomed as a sign of increased Austrian independence, although Austria could no longer afford an army greater than the limit prescribed.

When Metternich returned to Vienna in October 1810, he was no longer as popular. His influence was limited to foreign affairs, and his attempts to get a full Council of State reintroduced had failed. Convinced that a much weakened Austria should avoid another invasion by France, he rejected the advances of Tsar Alexander and instead concluded an alliance with Napoleon on 14 March 1812. He also supported a period of moderate censorship, aimed at preventing provocation of the French. Requiring that only 30,000 Austrian troops fight alongside the French, the alliance treaty was more generous than the one Prussia had signed a month earlier; this allowed Metternich to give both Britain and Russia assurances that Austria remained committed to curbing Napoleonic ambitions. He accompanied his sovereign for a final meeting with Napoleon at Dresden in May 1812 before Napoleon embarked upon the French invasion of Russia.

Congress of Vienna

In the autumn of 1814, the heads of the five reigning dynasties and representatives from 216 noble families began gathering in Vienna. Before ministers from the "Big Four" (the Coalition allies of Britain, Austria, Prussia and Russia) arrived, Metternich stayed quietly in Baden bei Wien, two hours to the south. When he heard they had reached Vienna he journeyed to meet them and encouraged them to go with him back to Baden. They declined, and four meetings were held in the city itself. In these, the representatives agreed on how the Congress would operate and, to Metternich's delight, named his own aide Friedrich von Gentz secretary to the negotiations of the "Big Six" (the Big Four plus France and Spain). When Talleyrand and Spanish representative Don Pedro Labrador learned of these decisions, they were incensed that agreements were negotiated by the Big Four only. Sweden and Portugal were similarly angered by their exclusion from all but the full Congress, especially since Metternich was determined to give the latter grouping as little power as possible. As a result, the Big Six became the Preliminary Committee of the Eight, whose first decision was that the congress itself be postponed to 1 November. In fact, it would soon be postponed again, with only a minor commission beginning work in November. In the meantime, Metternich organised a controversially vast array of entertainments for the delegates including himself.

Leaving Castlereagh to negotiate on Tsar Alexander's behalf, Metternich briefly turned his attention to quelling anti-Habsburg feeling in Italy. Around the same time, he learnt that the Duchess of Sagan was courting the Tsar. Disappointed, and exhausted by social rounds, Metternich let his guard drop, angering Tsar Alexander during negotiations over Poland (still formally ruled by Napoleon's ally Frederick Augustus of Saxony as the Duchy of Warsaw) by implying Austria could match Russia militarily. Despite the blunder, Francis refused to dismiss his foreign minister, and political crisis rocked Vienna throughout November, culminating in a declaration by Tsar Alexander that Russia would not compromise in its claim on Poland as a satellite kingdom. The Coalition rejected this utterly, and the agreement seemed further off than ever. During the stand-off, it seems that Alexander even went as far as to challenge Metternich to a duel. However, Tsar Alexander soon did a rapid volte face and agreed to the division of Poland. He also softened in regard to the Germanic Kingdom of Saxony, and for the first time allowed Talleyrand to participate in all Big Four (now Big Five) discussions.

With the new consensus, the major issues concerning Poland and Germany were settled in the second week of February 1815. Austria gained land in the partition of Poland and prevented the Prussian annexation of Saxony, but was forced to accept Russian dominance in Poland and increasing Prussian influence in Germany. Metternich now focused on getting the various German states to cede historic rights to a new Federal Diet that could stand up to Prussia. He also assisted the Swiss Committee and worked on myriad smaller issues, like navigation rights on the Rhine. The beginning of Lent on 8 February brought him more time to devote to these congressional issues as well as private discussions about southern Italy, where Joachim Murat was said to be raising a Neapolitan army. On 7 March Metternich was awakened with the news that Napoleon had escaped from his island prison of Elba and within an hour had met with both the Tsar and the King of Prussia. Metternich wanted no rash change of course, and at first, there was little impact on the Congress. Finally, on 13 March the Big Five declared Napoleon an outlaw and the Allies began preparations for renewed fighting. On 25 March they signed a treaty committing each to send 150,000 men with little sign of their prior divisive stances. After the military commanders left, the Vienna Congress settled down to serious work, fixing the boundaries of an independent Netherlands, formalising proposals for a loose confederation of Swiss cantons, and ratifying earlier agreements over Poland. By late April only two major issues remained, the organisation of a new German federation and the problem of Italy.

Paris and Italy

From 1815 onward, statesmen in Europe focused on averting the threat of social revolution because Napoleon had been defeated. Metternich published reform proposals. He envisaged the preservation of the existing social hierarchy and to this end the continuous authority of legitimate sovereigns as well as the rule of law. Metternich rose to become the foremost conservative statesman in Europe, his scrutiny lasted until 1848. The Habsburg rulers of the Austrian Empire bet that the idea of nationality would avert the doom.

Metternich was back with coalition allies in Paris, once more discussing peace terms. After 133 days of negotiations, longer than the Hundred Days turmoil itself, the second Treaty of Paris was concluded on 20 November. Metternich, of the opinion that France should not be dismembered, was happy with the result. France lost only a little land along its eastern borders, seven hundred million French francs, and the artworks it had plundered. It also accepted an army of occupation, numbering 150,000. In the meantime a separate treaty, proposed by Alexander and redrafted by Metternich, had been signed on 26 September. This created a new Holy Alliance centered on Russia, Prussia and Austria; it was a document Metternich neither pushed for nor wanted, given its vaguely liberal sentiments.

Representatives from most of the European states eventually signed, with the exception of the Papal States (the Pope), the United Kingdom, and the Ottoman Empire. Shortly afterwards, a separate treaty reaffirmed the Quadruple Alliance and established through its sixth article the Congress System of regular diplomatic meetings. With Europe at peace, the Austrian flag now flew over 50 percent more land than when Metternich had become Foreign Minister.

Metternich now returned to the question of Italy, making his first visit to the country in early December 1815. After visiting Venice, his family joined him in Milan on 18 December. For once it was Metternich playing the liberal, vainly urging Francis to give the region some autonomy. Metternich spent four months in Italy, endlessly busy and suffering chronic inflammation of the eyelids. He tried to control Austrian foreign policy from Milan and when there was a serious disagreement between the Empire and the Kingdom of Bavaria, was heavily criticised for his absence. His enemies could not capitalise on this, however. Stadion was occupied by his work as finance minister and the Empress Maria Ludovika of Austria-Este, a fierce critic of Metternich's policies, died in April.

Aachen, Teplice, Karlsbad, Troppau, and Laibach

Metternich's primary focus remained on preserving unity among the Great Powers of Europe and hence his own power as mediator. He was also concerned by liberal-minded Ioannis Kapodistrias' increasing influence over Tsar Alexander and the continual threat of Russia annexing large areas of the declining Ottoman Empire (the so-called Eastern Question). As he had earlier envisaged, by April 1818 Britain had drawn up, and Metternich pushed through, proposals to have a Congress at Aachen, then a Prussian frontier town, six months later. Meanwhile, Metternich was advised to go to the spa town of Karlsbad to treat the rheumatic tension in his back. It was a pleasant month-long trip, although it was there he received news of the death of his father at the age of 72.

He visited the family estate at Königswart and then Frankfurt in late August to encourage the member states of the German Confederation to agree on procedural issues. Metternich could also now visit Koblenz for the first time in 25 years and his new estate at Johannisberg. Travelling with Emperor Francis, he was warmly greeted by the Catholic towns along the Rhine as he progressed towards Aachen. He had arranged in advance for newspapers to cover the first peacetime congress of its kind. As discussions began, Metternich pushed for the withdrawal of allied troops from France and means for preserving the unity of the European powers. The former was agreed almost immediately, but the latter agreement extended only to maintaining the Quadruple Alliance. Metternich rejected the Tsar's idealistic plans for (among other things) a single European army. His own recommendations to the Prussians for greater controls on freedom of speech was equally hard for other powers such as Britain to support openly.

Metternich travelled with Dorothea Lieven to Brussels soon after the congress broke up, and although he could not stay more than a few days, the pair exchanged letters for the next eight years. He arrived in Vienna on 11 December 1818 and was finally able to spend considerable time with his children. He entertained the Tsar during the Christmas season and spent twelve weeks monitoring Italy and Germany before setting off with the Emperor on the third trip to Italy. The trip was cut short by the assassination of the conservative German dramatist August von Kotzebue. After a short delay, Metternich decided that if the German governments would not act against this perceived problem, Austria would have to compel them. He called an informal conference in Karlsbad and sounded out Prussian support beforehand by meeting with Frederick William III of Prussia in Teplice in July. Metternich carried the day, using a recent attempt on the life of the Chief Minister of Nassau, Carl Ibell to win agreement for the conservative program now known as the Convention of Teplitz. The Karlsbad conference opened on 6 August and ran for the rest of the month. Metternich overcame any opposition to his proposed "group of anti-revolutionary measures, correct and preemptory", although they were condemned by outsiders. Despite censure Metternich was very pleased with the result, known as the Carlsbad Decrees.

Chancellor

Hanover, Verona, and Czernowitz

In 1821, while Metternich was still at Laibach with Tsar Alexander, the revolt of Prince Alexander Ypsilantis threatened to bring the Ottoman Empire to the brink of collapse. Wanting a strong Ottoman Empire to counterbalance Russia, Metternich opposed all forms of Greek nationalism. Before Alexander returned to Russia, Metternich secured his agreement not to act unilaterally and would write to the Tsar, again and again, asking him not to intervene. For extra support he met with Viscount Castlereagh (now also Marquess of Londonderry) and King George IV of the United Kingdom in Hanover in October. The warmness of Metternich's welcome was sweetened by his promise to settle in part Austria's financial debts to Britain. The earlier Anglo-Austrian entente was thus restored, and the pair agreed that they would support the Austrian position concerning the Balkans. Metternich went away happy, not least because he had met Dorothea Lieven once more.

Over Christmas, the Tsar wavered more than Metternich had expected and sent Dmitry Tatishchev to Vienna in February 1822 for talks with Metternich. Metternich soon convinced the "conceited and ambitious" Russian to let him dictate events. In return Austria promised to support Russia in enforcing its treaties with the Ottomans if the other alliance members would do likewise; Metternich was aware this was politically impossible for the British. Metternich's adversary at the Russian court, Kapodistrias, retired from service there; however, by the end of April there was a new threat: Russia now determined to intervene in Spain, action Metternich described as "utter nonsense". He played for time, convincing his ally Castlereagh to come to Vienna for talks before a scheduled congress in Verona, although Castlereagh died by suicide on 12 August. With Castlereagh dead and relations with the British weakening, Metternich had lost a useful ally. The Congress of Verona was a fine social event but diplomatically less successful. Supposedly concerned with Italy, the Congress had to focus on Spain instead. Austria urged non-intervention, but it was the French that carried the day with their proposal for a joint invasion force. Prussia committed men, and the Tsar pledged 150,000. Metternich worried about the difficulties of transporting such numbers to Spain and about French ambitions, but still pledged (if only moral) support for the joint force.

He lingered in Verona until 18 December, then spending some days in Venice with the Tsar and then by himself in Munich. He returned to Vienna in early January 1823 and remained until September; after Verona, he travelled much less than before, partly because of his new post as Chancellor and partly because of his declining health. He was buoyed by the arrival of his family from Paris in May. He shone once more in Viennese society. Politically, the year was one of disappointments. In March the French crossed the Pyrenees unilaterally, undoing the "moral solidarity" established at Verona. Likewise, Metternich thought the new Pope Leo XII too pro-French, and there was trouble between Austria and several German states over why they had not been included at Verona. Furthermore, Metternich, in discrediting the Russian diplomat Pozzo di Borgo, instead renewed the Tsar's former suspicion of him. Worse came in late September: while accompanying the Emperor to a meeting with Alexander at Czernowitz, Metternich fell ill with a fever. He could not continue and had to make do with brief talks with the Russian Foreign Minister, Karl Nesselrode. At the Czernowitz talks, in Metternich's absence, an impatient Tsar asked for a congress in the then Russian capital Saint Petersburg to discuss the Eastern Question. Metternich, wary of letting the Russians dominate affairs, could only play for time.

Hungarian Diets, Alexander I's death, and problems in Italy

In the early 1820s, Metternich had advised Francis that convening the Hungarian Diet would help get approval for financial reform. In fact, the Diet of 1825 to 1827 saw 300 sessions filled with criticism of how the Empire had eroded the historic rights of the Kingdom of Hungary's nobility. Metternich complained that it "interfered with [his] time, [his] customs and [his] daily life", as he was forced to travel to Bratislava to perform ceremonial duties and to observe. He was alarmed by the growth of Hungarian national sentiment and wary of the growing influence of nationalist István Széchenyi, whom he had met twice in 1825. Back in Vienna, in mid-December, he heard of the death of Tsar Alexander with mixed feelings. He had known the Tsar well and was reminded of his own frailty, although the death potentially wiped the soured diplomatic slate clean. Moreover, he could claim credit for foreseeing the liberal Decembrist revolt the new Tsar Nicholas I had to crush. Now 53, Metternich chose to send Archduke Ferdinand to establish the first contact with Nicholas. Metternich was also friendly with the British envoy (the Duke of Wellington) and enlisted his help to charm Nicholas. Despite this, the first 18 months of Nicholas' reign did not go well for Metternich: firstly, the British were chosen over the Austrians to oversee Russian-Ottoman talks; and, as a result, Metternich could exercise no influence over the resulting Akkerman Convention. France too began to drift away from Metternich's non-interventionist position. In August 1826 Russian Foreign Minister Nesselrode rejected a proposal by Metternich to convene a congress to discuss the events that eventually led to the outbreak of civil war in Portugal. The Austrian Foreign Minister accepted this with "surprising resilience". On 29 March 1827 Metternich spoke and attended the funeral of Beethoven whom he may have met during the Congress of Vienna despite Beethoven being one of Metternich's harshest critics.

On 5 November 1827 Baroness Antoinette von Leykam (1806-1829), the daughter of a diplomat Christoph Ambros Freiherr von Leykam (1777–1830), Chamberlain of the Grand Duke of Baden, and his Neapolitan wife, Donna Lucia Antonia Caputo dei Marchesi della Petrella (b.1783), former mistress of Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies, became Metternich's second wife. They met in Vienna, at a ball given by Sir Henry Wellesley, who served as British ambassador to Austria. Antoinette was only twenty, and their marriage, a small affair at Hetzendorf (a village just outside Vienna), drew considerable criticism considering their difference in status. She belonged to the lower nobility, but Antoinette's grace and charm soon won over Viennese high society. The same day British, Russian and French forces destroyed the Ottoman fleet at the Battle of Navarino. Metternich worried that further intervention would topple the Ottoman Empire, upsetting the balance so carefully created in 1815. To his relief, the new British Prime Minister Wellington and his cabinet were equally fearful of giving Russia the upper hand in the Balkans. After another round of his proposals for congresses was rejected, Metternich stood back from the Eastern Question, watching as the Treaty of Adrianople was signed in September 1829. Though he publicly criticised it for being too harsh on Turkey, privately he was satisfied with its leniency and promise of Greek autonomy, making it a buffer against Russian expansion rather than a Russian satellite state. Metternich's private life was filled with grief. In November 1828 his mother died, and in January 1829 Antoinette died, five days after giving birth to their son, Richard von Metternich. After fighting tuberculosis for many months, Metternich's son Viktor, then a junior diplomat, died on 30 November 1829. Consequently, he spent Christmas alone and depressed, worried by the draconian methods of some of his fellow conservatives and by the renewed march of liberalism.

Eastern Question revisited and peace in Europe

In 1831 Egypt invaded the Ottoman Empire. There were fears of the Empire's total collapse, by which Austria stood to gain little. Metternich therefore proposed multilateral support for the Ottomans and a Viennese Congress to sort out details, but the French were evasive and the British refused to support any congress held in Vienna. By mid-1833 Anglo-Austrian relations had hit a new low. With Russia Metternich was more confident of exerting influence. He was mistaken, however, and left to observe from afar Russian intervention in the region culminating in the Treaty of Hünkâr İskelesi. He still arranged to meet with King Frederick William III of Prussia at Teplitz and accompany Francis to meet Tsar Nicholas at Münchengrätz in September 1833. The former meeting went well: Metternich still felt able to dominate the Prussians, despite their rising economic prominence in Europe through the Zollverein. The latter was more strained but, as Nicholas warmed, three Münchengrätz Agreements were reached that shaped a new conservative league to uphold the existing order in Turkey, Poland, and elsewhere. Metternich left happy; his sole disappointment was having to commit to being tougher on Polish nationalists. Almost immediately, he heard of the creation of the Quadruple Alliance of 1834 between Britain, France, Spain and Portugal. This alliance of liberals was such an affront to Austrian values that Palmerston wrote he "should like to see Metternich's face when he reads our treaty". It did indeed draw bitter condemnation, mostly because it provided the occasion for an outbreak of war. Metternich tried two tacks: to intrigue for the removal of the British Foreign Secretary and to attempt (vainly) to build up cross-power bloc agreements. Palmerston did indeed leave office in November, but only temporarily and not by any of Metternich's attempts. Large-scale war, however, had been avoided and the Quadruple Alliance was beginning to disintegrate.

On 2 March 1835, Emperor Francis died, succeeded by his epileptic son Ferdinand I. Despite the widespread opinion that Ferdinand was a "ghost of a monarch", Metternich valued legitimacy highly and worked to keep the government running. He soon accompanied Ferdinand on his first meeting with Tsar Nicholas and the King of Prussia, again at Teplitz. Ferdinand was overwhelmed, especially as the delegations paraded into Prague. Overall, however, it was an untroubled meeting. The next few years passed relatively peacefully for Metternich: diplomatic incident was limited to the occasional angry exchange with Palmerston and Metternich's failure to be a mediator between the British and Russians over their Black Sea dispute. He also put effort into bringing new technology like the railways into Austria. The most pressing issue was Hungary, where Metternich remained reluctant to support the centrist (but still nationalist) Széchenyi. His hesitancy is "a sad commentary on his declining powers of political presence". At court Metternich increasingly lost power to the rising star Franz Anton von Kolowrat-Liebsteinsky, particularly in his proposals to increase military budgets. After his failed attempt in 1836 to force constitutional reform (which would have afforded him greater influence)—largely thwarted by the more liberally minded Archduke John—Metternich was forced to share more power with Kolowrat and Archduke Ludwig as part of Austria's Secret State Conference. Decision making ground to a halt. Entertaining and maintaining his estates at Johannisberg, Königswart and Plasy (together with Mariánská Týnice) were consuming much of his resources at a time when he had four young children to support, causing him more stress.

Revolution

Though Metternich was tiring, memoranda kept pouring forth from his chancellery. Despite this, he did not foresee the building crisis. The new Pope Pius IX was gaining a reputation as a liberal nationalist, counterbalancing Metternich and Austria; at the same time, the Empire experienced unemployment and rising prices as a result of poor harvests. Metternich was bemused at the outcry from Italians, the Pope, and Palmerston when he ordered the occupation of Papal-controlled Ferrara in mid-1847. Despite securing French agreement for the first time in years from François Guizot over the Swiss Civil War, France and Austria were forced into backing breakaway cantons. The pair proposed a conference, but the government crushed the revolt. It was a major blow to Metternich's prestige, and his opponents in Vienna called it evidence of his incompetence. In January 1848 Metternich predicted trouble in Italy during the year ahead. He acted on this by dispatching an envoy, Karl Ludwig von Ficquelmont to Italy; by resurrecting his 1817 plans for an Italian chancellery; and by arranging various contingency plans with the French. In late February Austrian field marshal Joseph Radetsky placed Austrian Italy (Lombardy-Venetia) under martial law as disturbances spread. Despite this and hearing of renewed revolution in France, Metternich was cautious, still thinking domestic revolution unlikely. He was described by a Saxon diplomat as, in the words of biographer Musulin, "having shrunk to a shadow of his former self".

On 3 March Kossuth gave a fiery speech in the Hungarian Diet, calling for a constitution. It was not until 10 March that Metternich appeared concerned about events in Vienna, where there were now threats and counter-threats flying. Two petitions were organised, calling for greater freedom, transparency, and representation. Students were involved in several demonstrations, culminating on 13 March when they cheered the imperial family but voiced anger at Metternich. After a customary morning, Metternich was called to meet with Archduke Ludwig soon after midday. The Chancellor had troops sent into the streets while also announcing a prearranged and minimal concession. In the afternoon the crowd turned hostile, and a division of troops opened fire on it, killing five. The mob was now truly incited, as the liberals were joined by underprivileged Viennese set on wreaking havoc. The students offered to form a pro-government Academic Legion if their demands were met. Ludwig was eager to accept and told Metternich he must resign, to which he reluctantly agreed. After sleeping in the Chancellery he was advised to either take back his resignation or leave the city. After Ludwig sent him a message to the effect that the government could not guarantee his safety, Metternich left for the house of Count Taaffe and then, with aid from friends Charles von Hügel and Johann Rechberg, reached the family seat of Prince Liechtenstein forty miles away at Feldsberg. Metternich's daughter Leontine joined them on 21 March and suggested England as a haven; agreeing, Metternich, Melanie and 19-year-old Richard set out, leaving the younger children with Leontine. Metternich's resignation had been met with cheering in Vienna, and even the Viennese commoners welcomed the end of Metternich's era of social conservatism.

Exile, return, and death

After an anxious journey of nine days during which they were honoured in some towns and refused entry to others, Metternich, his wife, and son Richard arrived in the Dutch city of Arnhem. They stayed until Metternich regained his strength, then reached Amsterdam and The Hague, where they waited to hear the results of a demonstration by British chartists, planned for 10 April. On 20 April they landed at Blackwall in London, where they stayed in the Brunswick Hotel in Hanover Square for a fortnight until they found a permanent residence. Metternich largely enjoyed his time in London: the Duke of Wellington, now nearly eighty, tried to keep him entertained, and there were also visits from Palmerston, Guizot (now also in exile) and Benjamin Disraeli, who enjoyed his political conversation. The sole disappointment was that Victoria herself did not acknowledge his presence in the capital. The trio leased a house, 44 Eaton Square, for four months. The younger children joined them in the summer. He followed events in Austria from afar, famously denying ever having erred; in fact, he declared the turmoil in Europe to be a vindication of his policies. In Vienna, a hostile post-censorship press continued to attack him; in particular, they accused him of embezzlement and accepting bribes, prompting an investigation. Metternich was eventually cleared of the more extreme charges, and searches for evidence of the lesser ones came up empty-handed. (In all likelihood Metternich's large expense claims were merely a product of the necessities of early 19th-century diplomacy.) Meanwhile, as he was denied his pension, Metternich was ironically reliant on loans.

In mid-September, the family moved to 42 Brunswick Terrace, Brighton, on the south coast of England where the tranquillity of life contrasted greatly with revolutionary Europe left behind. Parliamentary figures, particularly Disraeli, travelled down to visit them, as did Metternich's former friend Dorothea Lieven (Melanie led a reconciliation between the two). Expecting a visit from Metternich's daughter Leontine and her own daughter Pauline, the family moved to a suite of rooms at Richmond Palace on 23 April 1849. Visitors included Wellington, who still watched out for Metternich; Johann Strauss, the composer; and Dorothea de Dino, sister of Metternich's former lover Wilhemine of Sagan; and former lover Catherine Bagration. Metternich was showing his age, and his frequent fainting was cause for worry. The ex-Chancellor was also depressed by the lack of communication from the new Emperor Franz Joseph I and his government. Leontine wrote to Vienna trying to encourage this contact, and in August Metternich received a warm letter from Franz Joseph; sincere or not, it buoyed Metternich considerably. From mid-August Melanie began to push for a move to Brussels, a city cheaper to live in and closer to continental affairs. They arrived in October, staying overnight in the Hotel Bellevue. With revolution subsiding, Metternich was hopeful they would return to Vienna. Their stay in fact lasted over 18 months while Metternich waited for an opportunity to re-enter Austrian politics. It was a pleasant enough (and cheap) stay, first in the Boulevard de l'Observatoire and later in the Sablon area—filled with visits from politicians, writers, musicians and scientists. For Metternich, however, the tedium and homesickness only increased. In March 1851 Melanie induced him to write to the new political force in Vienna, Prince Schwarzenberg, to ask if he might return if he promised not to interfere in public affairs. In April he received an affirmative reply, authorised by Franz Joseph.

Historians' assessment

Historians agree on Metternich's skill as a diplomat and his dedication to conservatism. According to Arthur May, he believed that:

the mass of Europeans yearned for security, quiet, and peace, and regarded liberal abstractions as repugnant or were utterly indifferent to them. The best of all patterns of government, he insisted, was autocratic absolutism, upheld by a loyal army, by a submissive, decently efficient bureaucracy and police machine, and by trustworthy churchmen.

Particularly during the remainder of the nineteenth century, Metternich was heavily criticised, decried as the man who prevented Austria and the rest of central Europe from "developing along normal liberal and constitutional lines". Had Metternich not stood in the way of "progress", Austria might have reformed, dealt better with its problems of nationality, and the First World War might never have happened. Instead, Metternich chose to fight an overwhelmingly fruitless war against the forces of liberalism and nationalism. Heavy censorship was just one of a range of repressive instruments of state available to him that also included a large spy network. Metternich opposed electoral reform, criticising Britain's 1832 Reform Bill. In short, he locked himself into an embittered battle against "the prevailing mood of his age".

On the other hand, Metternich's diplomacy and statesmanship became the focus of praise in the twentieth century from more favourably inclined historians, particularly biographer Heinrich von Srbik. For example, particularly after World War II, historians were more likely to defend Metternich's policies as reasonable attempts to achieve his goals, chiefly the balance of power in Europe. Sympathetic historians point out that Metternich correctly foresaw and worked to prevent Russian dominance in Europe, succeeding where his successors would fail 130 years later. As argued by Srbik, Metternich himself pursued legality, cooperation, and dialogue, and therefore helped ensure thirty years of peace, the "Age of Metternich". Authors like Peter Viereck and Ernst B. Haas also give Metternich credit for his more liberal ideals, even if they weighed relatively little in his overall policies.

Critical views presuppose Metternich had the ability to shape Europe favorably but chose not to. More modern critiques like that of A. J. P. Taylor have questioned how much influence Metternich actually wielded. Robin Okey, a critic of Metternich, noted that even in the realm of foreign affairs Metternich "had only his own persuasiveness to rely on", and this degraded over time. By this interpretation, his task was to create a "smokescreen" that hid Austria's true weakness. When it came to choosing a set of sound principles, wrote Taylor, "most men could do better while shaving." The result was that Metternich was no captivating diplomat: Taylor described him as "the most boring man in European history". Nor were his failures limited to foreign affairs, critics argue: at home he was equally powerless, failing to effect even his own proposals for administrative reform. In contrast, those who have attempted to rehabilitate Metternich describe him as "unquestionably [a] master of diplomacy", someone who perfected and indeed shaped the nature of diplomacy in his era. In a similar vein, Alan Sked argues that Metternich's "smokescreen" may well have served a purpose in furthering a relatively coherent set of principles.

Issue

Metternich's children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren are (names are untranslated):

Honours and arms

Other honours

In 1823, botanist J.C.Mikan published a genus of flowering plants from Brazil, belonging to the family Solanaceae as Metternichia in his honour.