Catolicavirtual empire
Classified in History
Written at on 
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After the Congress of Vienna, Germany belonged to Prussia and Austria, and was divided into 39 states. In 1834 the first step to attaining union was when several states formed the Zollverein a financial union which tried to promote trade between the separate states. There was another step when in 1848 some revolutionaries tried to create the Parliament of Frankfurt for all Germans. It failed but proved that unification was possible. Otto Von Bismarck, guided the unification process and then grew in importance after military victories against Denmark, Austria and France. In 1871, the 'Second Reich' (German Empire) was declared in Versailles, and King Wilhelm I of Prussia was named the German Kaiser. Germany was a powerful nation, with Berlin as its capital. Based on the constitution of 1871, it was a federal state, meaning that the regions still retained local government. The main executive power was centred on the Kaiser.