Declaration of the Republic of Mainz
- When
- 1792–1793
- Where
- Mainz under French occupation; French-occupied territories west of the Rhine; Deutschhaus, Mainz; Mainz convention decision; Mainz under siege
- Episodes
- 5
On 17 March 1793 the Rhenish-German National Convention met in Mainz's Deutschhaus, and its president Andreas Joseph Hofmann proclaimed the Rhenish-German Free State from the building's balcony—the first democratic state on present-day German territory, lasting until July 1793.
Episodes
- French Occupation of Mainz
After Valmy, Custine's army advanced into the Palatinate and occupied Mainz on 21 October 1792.
- Elections in the Occupied Territories
On 24 February 1793, elections ordered by the French National Convention sent deputies from 130 towns to Mainz.
- Declaration of the Rhenish-German Free State
The Rhenish-German National Convention first met on 17 March 1793; president Hofmann proclaimed the Free State from the Deutschhaus balcony.
- Bid for Accession to France
On 21 March 1793 the convention decided to seek accession to France, dispatching delegates including Forster and Lux to Paris.
- Siege and End of the Republic
Prussian and Austrian troops conquered Mainz on 22 July 1793 after a destructive siege; Jacobins were persecuted until 1795.
Background and detail
Background. During the War of the First Coalition, Prussian and Austrian forces retreated after the Battle of Valmy, enabling a French counterattack. General Custine's troops entered the Palatinate in late September and occupied Mainz on 21 October 1792, creating the conditions for revolutionary activity in the city.
Convention and Declaration. By order of the French National Convention, elections were held on 24 February 1793 in the French-occupied territories west of the Rhine, with 130 cities and towns sending deputies to Mainz. The Rheinisch-Deutscher Nationalkonvent, the first democratically elected parliament on the territory of future Germany, first met on 17 March 1793 in the Deutschhaus. Its president, Andreas Joseph Hofmann, proclaimed the Rhenish-German Free State from the Deutschhaus balcony.
Aftermath. On 21 March 1793 the convention resolved to seek accession to France, sending delegates including Georg Forster and Adam Lux to Paris. After a long siege that destroyed much of the city, Prussian and Austrian troops conquered Mainz on 22 July 1793; the republic ended and Jacobins were persecuted until French control returned in 1795.
People involved
- Andreas Joseph Hofmann · President of the Rhenish-German National Convention; proclaimed the Rhenish-German Free State
- Georg Forster · Delegate sent to Paris to seek accession to France
- Adam Lux · Delegate sent to Paris to seek accession to France
- General Custine · French general whose troops occupied Mainz in October 1792
Sources
- Republic of Mainz Wikipedia, revision of 2026-06-24
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.