Gründerzeit

As founder time a phase of economic history is referred to Central Europe in the 19th century, which began with the broad industrialization and continued until the " founder noise " ( great stock market crash of 1873). The beginning of the period can not be accurately determined, as industrialization proceeded by region. The last years before the great crash as founding years are in the narrower sense, as in the German Empire and Austria - Hungary culminated the economic boom in a previously unknown boom.

Classification

The early days in the era, when the bourgeoisie in Central Europe took over the cultural leadership. Therefore, it is also the great age of classical liberalism, even if its political demands were only partially implemented and more at the end of this period.

Industrialization also provided new aesthetic tasks, especially in architecture and crafts. This was expressed in an eclectic evolution of existing forms. Therefore, with " early days " style of historicism meant.

However, since the historicism remained until after 1900, the dominant style, there is a certain blurring of the term, particularly in colloquial usage. In a stylish historical contexts this may mean after 1873 even decades. By " early days " therefore sometimes very different time periods are referred to, for example, 1850-1873, 1871-1890, 1850-1914, or sometimes even only the years 1871 to 1873. Contemporary, this term referred only to the period around 1870 and the then economic recovery.

Nikolai Dmitrievich Kondratiev describes the economic recovery of this period as the rising phase of the second Kondratieff cycle.

Economy

Upswing

The term " early days " refers to the overall economic growth of the mid-19th century, could be rich in the company's founder in a relatively short time. A decisive factor for the rapid economic development was the railroad. Typical " founders " are therefore railway entrepreneurs like Bethel Henry Strousberg. The railroad had a significant driving effect on other industries, such as the increased demand for coal and steel, so that even in these areas Industrieimperien, such as that created by Friedrich Krupp. Above all, communication and migration much easier. Lots of immigrant rural lower classes in the cities ( urbanization → ), where they were a part of the resulting there proletariat - then arose the social question ( contemporary also called pauperism ).

With the railway next to the shipping business too sales and distribution were revolutionized outside the traditional industrial sector mass production became possible. For major entrepreneurs of food companies for example, were the brewers Ignaz Mautner and the coffee roaster Julius Meinl I..

An important role among the " founders " also played people of the Jewish faith, who knew how to use their nunmehrige emancipation and opportunities for social advancement - an example is the banking house of Rothschild called that as a financier of railway construction had significant meaning.

To what extent and public companies in Germany dominated the early days, show the following figures: In the years 1867-1870 88 shares companies were established in Prussia, 1871-1873, there were 928 new companies.

Reparations

Germany France dictated by the acquired German -Prussian War (1870/1871) a reparation payment in the amount of five billion francs in gold. In Germany this gold was melted and shaped to own coins ( gold cord). At the same time, Germany sold his silver stocks and bought more gold on the world market. To counteract a devaluation of the silver currencies due to the high amount of silver on the market, limited France minting of silver coins (see Latin Monetary Union ). The currency of many countries at that time based on gold ( gold standard ), silver ( silver standard ) or a Bimetallstandard.

Gründerkrise

The recovery took place in the great stock market crash (founder Barney) in 1873 to an abrupt end and went to the twenty years of economic stagnation phase, which is known as the founder of crisis.

In this crisis following the theory of economic liberalism lost ground and control mechanisms have been created and introduced protective tariffs in practice. The resulting crisis in this period petty-bourgeois and proletarian mass movements were avowed opponents of economic liberalism.

The most devastating consequence of the large crash was psychological. The promise of wealth and advancement for all seemed initially failed, in circles of small artisans and businessmen now was the fear of social decline by the industrial competition in the foreground, also was lost due to a crash a lot of savings capital. In these petty-bourgeois circles were spreading rapidly all sorts of conspiracy theories - in particular anti-Semitism gained solid ground and was in the 1880s to a broad political undercurrent.

Architecture and Design

As industrialization grew, the demand for housing; Entire neighborhoods were built on the "green meadow ". Even today there are in many Central European cities, many residential buildings from the period, often include the entire streets or even neighborhood. In Germany destroyed between 1940 and 1945 the countless air raids on German cities, including lots of carpet bombing, many Gründerzeitviertel or damaged it severely. Even the modern urban development since the 1950s has eliminated many of these buildings in Central Europe.

Typical of the style of the so-called century architecture which is about four-to six-story block building with its richly decorated facades. They were usually built by private housing societies. The decorative forms leaned against to historical style forms, which is why the architecture of this embossing is collectively referred to as historicism and includes styles such as the Gothic Revival, Neo-Renaissance and Neo-Baroque to. It originated villas and palaces for the rich become (large) middle class and numerous tenements for the rapidly growing urban population (see also demographics of Germany ). Although the resulting bit later Art Nouveau buildings are sometimes erroneously also assigned to the early days, they are to be distinguished from historicist buildings.

Significant in this phase was the integration of new technologies in architecture, construction and design. The decisive factor was the development of steel production ( Bessemer process ), for example, allowed for steel lattice towers. The only existing steel and glass Crystal Palace was on the site of London's Great Exhibition of 1851 as revolutionary and groundbreaking for later decades.

The interior architecture of the period played with different elements of historicism. The richly decorated rooms of the upper middle class took to older styles of art and decoration and imitating them.

Early days in Austria

Also in Austria, the founders era began after 1840 with the beginning of industrialization of space in Vienna and Bohemia and Moravia. Usually the March Revolution (1848 ) is taken as a starting point, the economic reforms, in contrast to the political reforms in general were not withdrawn.

Liberalism reached in the Austria -Hungarian Empire in a short period of 1867 ( Austro- Hungarian compensation) until the early 1870s its peak.

Vienna, the capital and residence city of Emperor Franz Joseph, was from 1850 - after the failed revolution of March - by the incorporation of the suburbs and the influx of hundreds of thousands, especially from Bohemia and Moravia, to 1910 the fifth largest metropolitan city in the world. The ring road was built on the site of the ancient city walls, housing and speculation flourished. The by the increased importance of trade and craft prosperous and - put powerful become bourgeoisie with magnificent monuments of historicism - compared to the more agriculturally dependent aristocracy and the impoverished working class.

In a smaller scale, entire neighborhoods were newly built in Graz. The old town of Graz remained largely intact (unlike the old town of Vienna ), as the active construction mainly took place outside.