The Hopped-Up, Horny Congress Of Vienna
Public DomainMembers of the Congress of Vienna, a nine-month-long summit to redraw Europe’s borders after the Napoleonic Wars.
Despite the important work that lay before the Congress of Vienna, the nine-month summit was equally famous for the wild social events that accompanied it.
Held between September 1814 and June 1815, the Congress involved representatives from 200 European states, including a czar, an emperor, and several kings. They were accompanied by thousands of courtiers, diplomats, staff, servants — and even mistresses. Their goal was to redraw Europe’s borders after Napoleon’s defeat, but with so many powerful people gathered in one place, many also chose to indulge in some revelry of their own.
Formal negotiations occurred through working groups and official functions, but much of the Congress was conducted informally at salons, banquets, and balls. Austrian Emperor Francis I and his foreign minister, Klemens von Metternich (the grandfather of topless duel participant Princess Pauline von Metternich), spared no expense despite dire imperial finances. They built 170 new imperial carriages, manufactured thousands of sumptuous uniforms, and hosted hundreds of guests nightly at the emperor’s expense for months on end.
As Count Auguste de La Garde-Chambonas described in Anecdotal Recollections of the Congress of Vienna, “A kingdom was cut into bits or enlarged at a ball; an indemnity was granted in the course of a dinner; a constitution was planned during a hunt… Everyone was engrossed with pleasure.”
Public DomainCzar Alexander I of Russia purportedly visited the room of Klemens von Metternich’s mistress one night.
Czar Alexander of Russia was particularly known for his sexual appetite by the Congress’ guests, even purportedly remarking once that had Napoleon been a woman, Alexander would have made him one of his mistresses. He was a strange figure who was handsome by all accounts but unhappy in his marriage. He was also a womanizer in a deep rivalry with the equally handsome Metternich when it came to matters of lust. The two men reportedly shared many lovers but could not stand one another.
The same could be said of Duchess Wilhelmine of Sagan and Princess Catherine Bagration, who loathed each other and strove to influence the course of the Congress by hosting parties and sleeping with many of the attendees, including Alexander and Metternich.
In the end, the Congress of Vienna did manage to get some work done, even if the debauched parties continually delayed the process. In fact, it may very well have dragged on even longer had Napoleon’s escape from Elba not abruptly halted the revelry and made the diplomats realize they had better get things settled.
