Biedermeier

The term ‘Biedermeier’ is applied to the lifestyle and mindset of the ‘pre-March’ era, the period between 1815 and 1848. Since citizens were excluded from any participation in political life under the repressive Metternich system, their cultural life was restricted to the private sphere. This withdrawal – into the family, into circles of friends, into the experience of Nature – was celebrated and has been idealized as a life of quiet thoughtfulness. The revolution of 1848 marked the end of the Biedermeier era.