Academic Legion (Vienna)
Encyclopedia
The Academic Legion was a military organization formed by university students in Vienna
during the Revolutions of 1848
. It played a key role in toppling the government of Clemens Metternich and precipitating his retirement on 13 March 1848. The Legion dissolved in October 1848 when the Vienna Uprising
was crushed.
to present their grievances and petitions to the “Aula,” the headquarters of the students, which had suddenly risen as an authority omnipotent in the opinion of the multitude.
When the imperial ministry
was about to promulgate a new press law, which abolished the censorship but still contained many restrictions, its chief, Franz von Pillersdorf, requested the students to express their judgment about that law. And on 15 May 1848 the students, at the head of the revolutionaries, obligated the government to revoke the constitution it had imposed, and to promise the convocation of a constituent assembly to formulate a new constitution. The students successfully fended off various attempts of the government to dissolve their organization. They compelled the ministry to agree to the removal of the soldiery from the city of Vienna and to the formation of a committee of public safety, which was to consist principally of the members of the students' organization. So independent and so comprehensive a power was confided to it that in several important respects it was the equal of the ministry. Without its consent, for instance, no military force should be employed in the city. Thus it might have been said without much exaggeration that for a certain time the students of Vienna governed Austria.
In his Reminiscences, Carl Schurz
describes the uniforms of the Academic Legion worn by the Viennese representatives at the Eisenach
Student Conference of 25 September - 4 October 1848:
News of events which would develop into the end of the Legion's domination of Austrian politics came during the course of this conference. In the face of the reports they received, the Viennese representatives returned home. The imperial government had dispatched troops to Hungary to quell disturbances there. In response, the Viennese revolutionaries took to the streets. They lynched the imperial minister of war, Theodor Franz, Count Baillet von Latour
, and drove government troops under Count Auersperg
from the city. On 23 October, Austrian Field Marshal Alfred Windischgrätz arrived with a large body of reenforcements, and by 31 October the rebellion was crushed, the Legion members having all fled or been killed or captured.
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
during the Revolutions of 1848
Revolutions of 1848
The European Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Spring of Nations, Springtime of the Peoples or the Year of Revolution, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe in 1848. It was the first Europe-wide collapse of traditional authority, but within a year reactionary...
. It played a key role in toppling the government of Clemens Metternich and precipitating his retirement on 13 March 1848. The Legion dissolved in October 1848 when the Vienna Uprising
Vienna Uprising
The Vienna Uprising or October Revolution of October 1848 was the last uprising in the Austrian Revolution of 1848....
was crushed.
History
The Legion, formed in 1848, was composed of about 6000 university students. Although students were well represented in the revolutionary vanguard of most cities affected by the revolution during this time, nowhere had the university students played so important and prominent a part in the revolutionary movement as in Vienna. The students exercised a preponderant influence in the “central committee,” the administrative body of the revolutionaries, which consisted of an equal number of students and members of the citizens' militia. Deputations of citizens and peasants came from all parts of AustriaAustria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
to present their grievances and petitions to the “Aula,” the headquarters of the students, which had suddenly risen as an authority omnipotent in the opinion of the multitude.
When the imperial ministry
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
was about to promulgate a new press law, which abolished the censorship but still contained many restrictions, its chief, Franz von Pillersdorf, requested the students to express their judgment about that law. And on 15 May 1848 the students, at the head of the revolutionaries, obligated the government to revoke the constitution it had imposed, and to promise the convocation of a constituent assembly to formulate a new constitution. The students successfully fended off various attempts of the government to dissolve their organization. They compelled the ministry to agree to the removal of the soldiery from the city of Vienna and to the formation of a committee of public safety, which was to consist principally of the members of the students' organization. So independent and so comprehensive a power was confided to it that in several important respects it was the equal of the ministry. Without its consent, for instance, no military force should be employed in the city. Thus it might have been said without much exaggeration that for a certain time the students of Vienna governed Austria.
In his Reminiscences, Carl Schurz
Carl Schurz
Carl Christian Schurz was a German revolutionary, American statesman and reformer, and Union Army General in the American Civil War. He was also an accomplished journalist, newspaper editor and orator, who in 1869 became the first German-born American elected to the United States Senate.His wife,...
describes the uniforms of the Academic Legion worn by the Viennese representatives at the Eisenach
Eisenach
Eisenach is a city in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated between the northern foothills of the Thuringian Forest and the Hainich National Park. Its population in 2006 was 43,626.-History:...
Student Conference of 25 September - 4 October 1848:
“. . . black felt hats with ostrich plumes, blue coats with black shining buttons, tricolored, black-red-gold sashes, bright steel-handled swords, light-gray trousers, and silver-gray cloaks lined with scarlet. They looked like a troop of knights of old.”
News of events which would develop into the end of the Legion's domination of Austrian politics came during the course of this conference. In the face of the reports they received, the Viennese representatives returned home. The imperial government had dispatched troops to Hungary to quell disturbances there. In response, the Viennese revolutionaries took to the streets. They lynched the imperial minister of war, Theodor Franz, Count Baillet von Latour
Theodor Franz, Count Baillet von Latour
Count Theodor Franz Baillet von Latour was an Austrian soldier and statesman. As the Imperial Minister of War, he was killed by a mob at the beginning of the Vienna Uprising.-Biography:...
, and drove government troops under Count Auersperg
Prince Adolf of Auersperg
Prince Adolf Wilhelm Daniel von Auersperg was an Austrian statesman.-Biography:He served in the Army from 1841 to 1860 and attained the rank of major of dragoons in the regiment of Prince Eugene...
from the city. On 23 October, Austrian Field Marshal Alfred Windischgrätz arrived with a large body of reenforcements, and by 31 October the rebellion was crushed, the Legion members having all fled or been killed or captured.
List of members
- Joseph Matthäus Aigner
- Hans Balatka
- Adolf FischhofAdolf FischhofAdolf Fischhof was a Hungarian-Austrian writer and politician of Jewish descent....
- Robert HamerlingRobert HamerlingRobert Hamerling was an Austrian poet.-Biography:Hamerling was born into a poor family at Kirchberg am Walde in Lower Austria....
- Friedrich HassaurekFriedrich HassaurekFriedrich Hassaurek was a United States journalist and ambassador.-Biography:He attended the Piaristen gymnasium. In the German revolutions of 1848, he served in the student legion, and was twice wounded...
- Eduard LaskerEduard LaskerEduard Lasker was a German politician and jurist.-Biography:He was born at Jarotschin, a village in Posen, being the son of a Jewish tradesman. He attended the gymnasium, and afterwards the University of Breslau...
- Oswald OttendorferOswald OttendorferValentin Oswald Ottendorfer was a United States journalist associated with the development of the German-language New Yorker Staats-Zeitung into a major newspaper.-Education:...
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