Hopes for Zollverein Accession and Economic Rapprochement
A report from the Adige valley reflects on the collapse of German political unification and expresses hope for an economic rapprochement with the German Zollverein. A duty-free exchange of Tyrolean wine for Bavarian grain could establish Bavaria as an economic mediator between Austria and Prussia.
Full transcription
† From the Adige, September 21. Hopes too often suffer the fate of complete failure for one not to be satisfied with a partial fulfillment. Present circumstances preach this modest contentment in more than one instance. If the star of German unity, which shone with such magnitude last year, has shattered into a thousand splinters, one must still be grateful if at least some of these splinters reform into a whole to which the remainder can also attach themselves in the crystallization process. And for such a partial, gradual attainment of what we had hoped to possess entirely and all at once, the prospects are indeed increasing day by day. Nor shall the hopes of joining the Zollverein, which our wine-producing region saw vanish with the greatest reluctance, be entirely buried. If we are not misinformed, our government intends to place at least the unified administration of all material interests of Germany into the hands of the newly formed central authority; and it is self-evident that we might then not look forward in vain to an alteration in customs relations. Bavaria, which of late has drawn closer to Austria than ever, is certainly inclined to grant a free exchange of its grain for the wines of the Etschland. This connection would best correspond to the mediating role it has assumed between Austria and the rest of Germany, led by Prussia. It would become the bridge on which other interests too could meet and forge an ever closer bond. It would ultimately be the satisfactory solution to a question that, given its importance to us, even if forced to recede into the background now, would constantly re-emerge and assert itself. This cannot escape our government, and the sooner it lends a hand, the more it may be assured of our gratitude.
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1849 at a glance
The year 1849 in Merano was strongly characterized by the expansion of the education system, notably the transformation of the grammar school into an eight-class upper secondary school in cooperation with Marienberg Abbey. At the same time, public life was shaped by regional administrative debates, transport and infrastructure planning, as well as church and political changes connected with the Frankfurt National Assembly. Natural disasters and ecological challenges such as threatened floods additionally accompanied the year. →
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"Hopes for Zollverein Accession and Economic Rapprochement." Bozner Zeitung, 22 September 1849. https://digital.tessmann.it/tessmannDigital/Zeitungsarchiv/Seite/Zeitung/2/1/22.09.1849/19932/2. https://www.meran-archive.com/en/artikel/1849-09-22-hoffnungen-auf-einen-zollvereinsanschluss-und-wirtschaftliche-annaeherung