School Ernst attended the Karlsschule from 1782 till 1791. Along with a sound military training he also followed and successfully passed details courses in
Philosophy and
Law. The Karlsschule was an elite establishment: the younger two Marschall von Bieberstein brothers got to know
Georges Cuvier (1769 – 1832) who later came to prominence as a notable
naturalist-
palaeontologist, and who became a lifelong family friend. Like many of his generation, Marschall von Bieberstein was initially sympathetic to many of the
ideas underpinning the
French Revolution.
Public service In June 1791 Ernst Marschall von Bieberstein entered military service as a lieutenant in the district militia (
"Kreiskontingent") under the command of
Prince William of
Nassau-Usingen. However, he was already destined, in the longer term, for a career in
civil administration and after a year of military service he made the switch, taking a post as
Court and Government Assessor. though it would be another twenty years before he would have the opportunity to
implement his own advice on this. After The creation of the enlarged
Duchy of Nassau in 1806, Marschall von Bieberstein and
Hans Christoph Ernst von Gagern headed up the government jointly. There were in effect two "Regierungspräsidenten". While von Gagern focused on foreign policy, von Bieberstein took responsibility for domestic matters. However, Nassau's sovereignty was not unconstrained, and a new edict imperial in 1809 debarred those who had been born on the
Left Bank of the Rhine from government service in any state other than
France. The edict caught von Gagern who had been born near
Worms and he resigned his office in 1809 or 1811 (sources differ) before "retiring" in 1811 to
Vienna, where French imperial edicts were of less effect, especially after
1812. After that Marschall von Bieberstein served as sole "Regierungspräsident" till his death in 1834.
Reformer Marschall von Bieberstein was still a relatively young man when he took over the government, and his early years in office are marked by a comprehensive strategy of financial, social and economic reform, all designed to create a modern and more unified state. On 1 January 1808 he was able to implement the abolition of serfdom and of "manumission fees" (whereby serfdom levies were compensated by the state), bringing
the duchy more closely into line with its former territories on the
left bank (which had been
part of revolutionary France since 1798). A year later tax privileges for the nobility were diminished. A wide range of administrative reforms included the imposition of "trading tax" (
"Gewerbesteuer") on all persons deemed to earn a living through "work and industry" (§ 31 of the Edict on Taxes of February 1809) which included government officers, lawyers, physicians and private tutors. Ernst Marschall von Bieberstein participated closely in reforms of the justice system, of financial policy and of the economy over which, as "Regierungspräsident", he presided. To that can be added his introduction of
free trade in 1815 and
business liberalisation policies introduced in 1819. Back in 1806, when Marschall von Stein had been running
Nassau's foreign policy, his
conciliatory approach towards
France had generated tension and, at times, acrimony between himself and
Baron vom Stein, at that time a senior Prussian government minister. After the Prussians suffered
a crushing military defeat in 1806 at the hands of Napoleon, however, French pressure led eventually to
vom Stein's exile from Prussia in 1808. As the fortunes of war turned after
1812 vom Stein was able to move around a little more freely, and by the time the
Nassau Constitution was implemented in 1814 relations between vom Stein and Marschall von Bieberstein were much improved, and the two men seem to have worked closely together on the constitution project. It was as a mark of gratitude concerning his diplomatic achievements at the
Congress of Vienna that in 1815/16 Marschall von Bieberstein was given the moated chateau and surrounding lands at
Hahnstätten which today carries the "Bieberstein" name.
Restorationist About-turn By
1815 the
trauma of war and demonisation of Napoleon had done much to discredit political modernisation among a new generation of political leaders and across Europe more widely. The mood at the
Congress of Vienna was best exemplified by the cautious conservatism of
the Prince Metternich and
the Viscount Castlereagh. Among these government heads, Marschall von Bieberstein was exceptional in having already been at the head of a government for almost as long as
Frederick William III had been a king and
Alexander I had been a tsar. Yet Marschall von Bieberstein remained in charge of the government of
Nassau. His principal objective was always the preservation of the duchy. It was evidently in order to facilitate that objective, in 1818/19 he turned away from reform. Ernst Marschall von Bieberstein became a conservative. By backing the so-called
"Metternichische Restauration", Marschall von Bieberstein aligned himself with a powerful
Austrian Foreign Minister (who after 1821 combined his ministerial responsibilities with the office of
Imperial Chancellor). The abrupt change of political focus also reflected a widespread opposition to further reform across
Nassau and indeed across the
German Confederation more generally. These were not isolated atrocities. The postwar years were
marked by austerity and hunger across Europe. Popular discontent was on the rise and governments were increasingly nervous. Towards the end of July 1819 Marschall von Bieberstein contacted
Prince Metternich about his concerns over "demagoguic activities in the Rhine region". He expressed particular concern that
Louis I, Grand Duke of Hesse (which bordered
Nassau) had not been persuaded to take the necessary "serious measures" against fraterntities of malcontents at the universities in
Darmstadt and
Giessen. Marschall von Bieberstein had, he assured the prince, already attempted to persuade the
Grand Duke of
Hesse to take the necessary steps, by exerting pressure through the
Prussians, but these attempts had been fruitless. The risks of revolutionaries gaining influence were compounded in the region by the absence of any hardline position on the part of the city authorities in nearby
Frankfurt am Main. As long as the trouble makers could find a safe haven in
Germany's "free enclaves / cities", the "evil" would persist. The situation in
Nassau itself was not, he believed, "quite so dramatic", because political opposition came only from isolated individuals, rather than from the more organised radical fraternities that he identified elsewhere. Nevertheless, action was necessary: neighbouring governments surrounding
Nassau were not reacting appropriately to the risks identified. Despite the
collapse of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the
Austrian Empire remained, in most people's eyes, the most important member of the
German Confederation: its continuing leadership role was taken for granted both by
Prince Metternich and by Marschall von Bieberstein. Metternich replied promptly, on 31 July 1819, thanking Marschall von Bieberstein for his letter which had, yet again, confirmed him in his own opinion that the member governments of the
German confederation needed to work much more closely together. Otherwise the states of Germany would face a downfall which would be of their own making. Metternich was confident that the time for a decision was approaching fast: "A few weeks will be enough to shed light on the future path and to determine whether reason or revolution will prevail". Press restrictions amounting to state censorship were to be enacted. In addition, an "Investigation Commission" was established, mandated to look into the facts relating to the "origin and manifold ramifications of the revolutionary plots and demagogical associations directed against the existing constitution and the internal peace both of the union and of the individual states; of the existence of which plots more or less clear evidence is to be had already, or may be produced in the course of the investigation". Ernst Marschall von Bieberstein, whose correspondence has been preserved, now emerged as an uncompromising backer of the approach envisaged in the
Karlsbad decrees, both diplomatically and in his conservative domestic authoritarianism during the ensuing fifteen years. The savage treatment meted out to the aging opposition leader
Johann Georg Heber in 1832 indicate that it was not just the pre-emptive impact of Marschall von Bieberstein's reform agenda fifteen years earlier, but also his willingness in the 1830s to adopt a hands-on
anti-liberal approach which
Prince Metternich himself would
surely have endorsed.
Sovereignty The central mission to preserve the
duchy's sovereignty underpinned many of Marschall von Bieberstein's policies after
1819, including his backing of Metternch's determination to suppress
popular nationalism. It was (at leasty in part) in order to undermine the development of a
pan-German customs union that he travelled to
Paris where on 19 September 1833 he agreed a trade deal with
France which favoured the export from France of wines and silk products, and the export from
Nassau of
mineral water.
Death Ernst Marschall von Biebertein died in office at the start of 1834, half a year short of what would have been his sixty-fourth birthday. Commentators nevertheless contend that the authoritarian régime that he established after
1819 comfortably outlived him, coming to an end only in 1848.
1848/49. ==Evaluation==