Editing History of Germany (section)

===Overview===
[[File:Deutscher Bund.svg|thumb|The [[German Confederation]] 1815–1866. Prussia (in blue) considerably expanded its territory.]]
[[File:NB 1866-1871.99.svg|thumb|The [[North German Confederation]], 1866–1871]]

In 1815, continental Europe was in a state of overall turbulence and exhaustion, as a consequence of the [[French Revolutionary Wars|French Revolutionary]] and [[Napoleonic Wars]]. The liberal spirit of the [[The Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] and Revolutionary era diverged toward [[Romanticism]].<ref>Nicholas Saul, ed. ''The Cambridge companion to German romanticism'' (Cambridge University Press, 2009) ch 1.</ref> The victorious members of the Coalition had negotiated a new peaceful balance of powers in Vienna and agreed to maintain a stable German heartland that keeps French imperialism at bay. However, the idea of reforming the defunct [[Holy Roman Empire]] was discarded. Napoleon's [[German mediatization|reorganization of the German states]] was continued and the remaining princes were allowed to keep their titles. In 1813, in return for guarantees from the Allies that the sovereignty and integrity of the Southern German states ([[Grand Duchy of Baden|Baden]], [[Kingdom of Württemberg|Württemberg]], and [[Kingdom of Bavaria|Bavaria]]) would be preserved, they broke with France.{{Sfn|Carr|1991|pp=1–2}}