The Congress of Vienna makes no effort to restore the Holy Roman Empire and its three hundred-odd states.

Instead, it accepts the disappearance of many small states that had occurred since 1789 and creates the German Confederation.

The confederation consists of thirty-eight sovereign states and four free cities and includes the five large kingdoms of Austria, Prussia, Saxony, Bavaria, and Württemberg.

The confederation meets at a diet in Frankfurt, with an Austrian always serving as president.