The Wartburg Festival: German Students Demanding Unity in 1817

The History of Germany: Kingdoms, War, and Rebuilding Europe — Fexingo History · Jun 28, 2026 · 8m · transcript

In October 1817, around 500 German students gathered at the Wartburg Castle near Eisenach to celebrate the tercentenary of the Reformation and the fourth anniversary of the Battle of Leipzig. But the festival quickly became a political demonstration for national unity, constitutional rights, and freedom of the press. The students, many from the newly formed Burschenschaften, marched with black, red, and gold flags — the colors that would later become the German national flag. They burned reactionary books and symbols of the old order, including a corporal's cane, a Prussian military wig…