Latest / The History of Germany: Kingdoms, War, and Rebuilding Europe — Fexingo History
The Wartburg Festival: Germany's Forgotten Birth of Nationalism
In 1817, five hundred German students gathered at Wartburg Castle to celebrate the tercentenary of the Reformation and the fourth anniversary of the Battle of Leipzig. They carried torches, sang hymns, and burned symbols of reactionary politics—including a corporal's stick, a military corset, and a book by a conservative historian. This episode unpacks the Wartburg Festival, the moment when German nationalism first found a public voice. Who were the Burschenschaften? Why did they choose Wartburg? What did they actually burn, and what did they demand? We explore the speeches, the…
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