Abstract

After losing the imperial crown (temporarily) to Bavarian elector Charles Albrecht and seeing the rich province of Silesia wrested from her (permanently) by Frederick II of Prussia in the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-48), Maria Theresa finally succeeded in having her husband, Francis Stephan of Lorraine, formally elected as Emperor Francis I (r. 1745-65). This image depicts fireworks and popular festivities in Strasbourg in celebration of the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle (Aachen) on October 18, 1748, which confirmed Prussia’s annexation of Silesia and the Pragmatic Sanction. In 1681, Strasbourg had fallen to France, which supported Prussia in the latter part of its war against Austria. This scene is remarkable in that the peace being celebrated was a relative defeat for France, which had failed to advance its policies against the Habsburgs and the Holy Roman Empire.

Fireworks in Strasbourg Celebrating the Declaration of Peace after the War of the Austrian Succession on February 23, 1749 (1749)

Source

Source: Copperplate engraving by Johann-Martin Weis, 1749.
bpk-Bildagentur, image number 20005233. For rights inquiries, please contact Art Resource at requests@artres.com (North America) or bpk-Bildagentur at kontakt@bpk-bildagentur.de (for all other countries).

bpk / Kunstbibliothek, SMB / Knud Petersen

Recommended Citation

Fireworks in Strasbourg Celebrating the Declaration of Peace after the War of the Austrian Succession on February 23, 1749 (1749), published in: German History in Documents and Images, <https://germanhistorydocs.org/en/the-holy-roman-empire-1648-1815/ghdi:image-2909> [March 28, 2025].