Congress of Vienna

The congress convened in Vienna was meant to put a definitive end to the more than two decades that had passed since the French Revolution, a period that had fundamentally changed the face of Europe. In the autumn of 1814, top politicians and crowned heads from all over Europe gathered in the city, including Emperor Francis I of Austria, Tsar Alexander I of Russia, King Frederick William III of Prussia, and the representative of the French side, Talleyrand, who had pragmatically abandoned Napoleon and offered his services to the Bourbon King Louis XVIII. The victors over the 'Little Corporal' were now to decide on a new balance of power on the continent, but Napoleon soon attempted a comeback… Drawing on memoirs, diplomatic reports, diary entries, and other materials, the author presents a colourful picture of the political life of the time and offers a behind-the-scenes look at what was, until then, the largest peace congress in history.