The story of this place
From September 1814 to June 1815, the crowned heads and statesmen of Europe gathered in Vienna's Hofburg to rebuild the continent after Napoleon's downfall. Chaired by Austrian foreign minister Prince Metternich, the Congress of Vienna restored monarchies, balanced the great powers and drew borders that kept general peace for nearly a century. So lavish were its balls and banquets that a prince quipped the Congress does not move forward, it dances. Napoleon's dramatic escape from Elba in March 1815 briefly interrupted the talks before Waterloo settled matters. The settlement shaped European diplomacy until 1914.