Baden Revolution @museum.de

M: In 1848 and 1849, Europe was gripped by serious unrest. Revolution was in the air. People were sick of princes and kings deciding their fate. Their demands included free elections and freedom of speech and opinion.

F: The Grand Duchy of Baden was one of the territories affected by the revolutionary unrest. The Baden Revolution reached a peak (one of several) in April 1848 with what became known as the Hecker Uprising. Friedrich Hecker set out on foot from Constance to Kandern with a troop of volunteer fighters. They planned to impose the ideas of democracy and freedom by force if necessary.

M: Over the course of the uprising, Friedrich Hecker's army swelled to several hundred fighters. But there was a problem: the men had little combat experience and they were poorly equipped. Hecker himself was a trained lawyer rather than a military strategist. In Kandern, the revolutionaries were defeated by troops from Baden and Hesse. The uprising had failed. Friedrich Hecker fled to Switzerland and later emigrated to the United States.

F: In September 1848, the second wave of the revolution followed with the Struve Putsch and the proclamation of the republic. But Gustav Struve's uprising also failed. He was captured in Wehr in the south of the Black Forest.

M: Bruchsal was also the site of revolutionary unrest. Events on the 13th and 14th of May 1849 included the storming of the men's prison and the freeing of the prisoners. That same day, Grand Duke Leopold fled from Baden to exile in Koblenz. A parliament was elected in Baden, whereupon Prussia went to war against the Republic of Baden. In Rastatt, the republican forces eventually suffered a crushing defeat. That spelled the end for the Republic of Baden. The Grand Duke returned and everything continued as before. At least for the time being.