The Frankfurt Parliament convenes

The first German National Assembly opens in St Paul’s Church in Frankfurt

Following the March Revolution of 1848, the assembly of the German Confederation, which met in Frankfurt am Main, decided to organize elections to a National Assembly, which would be tasked with drawing up a constitution for an all-German federal state. Also to be based in Frankfurt, the new National Assembly was to meet in St Paul’s Church. Built between 1789 and 1833, the church was seen as the ideal venue for the new assembly, as it was not only the largest and most modern hall in Frankfurt, but with a circular structure rare in a church, it was suitable for staging a deliberative assembly.

The work required to remodel the church was carried out quickly. The organ was covered by a curtain sporting the image of “Germania”, whilst the altar was replaced by the table of the President of Parliament and the building was decked out with flags in black, red and gold. The election was organized by the individual states of the Confederation, who called all male citizens of legal age to the ballot boxes. Voters were divided in to constituencies of 50,000 voters, which each returned a single representative. Voter turnout varied between 40% and 70% and there were delays in counting the votes. As a result, the first all-German parliament convened later than planned and sat from 18 May 1848 to 31 May 1849.