Treaties have been concluded at Vi enna in 1738, between the Emperor Charles VI. and the Infanta of Spain as to the kingdom of the Two Sicilies; in 1809, between Napoleon and the Aus trians, after the defeat of the latter at Wagram; in 1864, settling the affairs after the war of Prussia and Austria against Denmark; and in 1866, between Francis Joseph of Austria and Victor Emmanuel of Italy, ceding Venetia to Italy. The Great Congress of Vienna (Nov. 3, 1814, to June 9, 1815) met to regulate the affairs of Europe after the overthrow of the Napoleonic empire, and restore the "balance of power." Alex ander I. and Nesselrode were there in the interests of Russia; the King of Prussia was supported by Hardenberg; CastlerPggh, and afterward Wellington, represented Britain; Metternich was Austrian plenipotentiary; Talleyrand se cured a hearing for France; Spain, Por tugal, Sweden, Denmark, Rome, and the minor German states were also repre sented.
The chief final outcome was that Austria obtained Lombardy, Venetia, Illyria, Dalmatia, Tyrol, Vorarlberg, Salzburg, and east Galicia; Prussia the province of Saxony, Posen, Swedish Pomerania, Westphalia, and the Rhenish province; Hanover, extended in area and made a kingdom, fell to the Hanoverian dynasty in Great Britain; Great Brit ain secured Malta, Heligoland, Cape Colony, and Mauritius, and the pro tectorate of the Ionian Islands; Bel gium and Holland were united as the kingdom of the Netherlands; Norway was confirmed to Sweden; the duchy of Warsaw (Poland) was made over to Russia, and the republic of Cracow was constituted; the neutrality of Switzer land was guaranteed, and Neuchatel (under Prussian sovereignty) added to the confederation; the German confed eration was constituted with numerous internal rearrangements; and the former ruling houses were reinstated in Naples, Sardinia (to which Genoa was annexed), Tuscany, and Modena, Parma being given to the ex-Empress Maria Louisa; the papal See recovered nearly all its possessions; and France was restricted to very nearly the territory it possessed before the Revolution. The signing of
the treaty, June 9, was hastened by the news of Napoleon's return from Elba. Pop, about 2,000,000.
On the establishment of the republic of Austria, Vienna became its capital. The conditions brought about by the position of the Empire, and the practical isolation of Austria from other coun tries, placed Vienna in a deplorable eco nomic and political situation. The city had hitherto drawn its prosperity from countries which formerly formed a part of the Austro-Hungarian empire, or from those which bordered on it. The establishment of new governments, in dependent of Austria, and largely hos tile to it, cut off Vienna from the com mercial advantages which it formerly en joyed. These conditions brought about the almost complete stagnation of com mercial and industrial life. During 1919, 1920, and 1921, the greater part of the people of the city were reduced to the greatest extremities, in spite of efforts at relief by the United States and other countries. The population decreased greatly and the problem of the future of the city was one which it seemed im possible to solve.