German Confederation

The German Confederation (German: Deutscher Bund), or GC, is a political, economic and cultural union composed by 18 states, 17 of them German-speaking, located in Europe. The German Confederation is operated by the democratically elected German Parliament located in Frankfurt, as well as by a president. The office of president is always held by the Emperor of Austria.

The union was established in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a successor to the Holy Roman Empire. The German Confederation underwent major political reform following the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, revoking most of the power Prussia held within the German Parliament and increasing that of Austria.

The vereinsthaler was established in 1857 as the official currency of the Confederation, and despite its devaluations in 1895 and 1962 continues to be the second most used currency worldwide.

History
The German Confederation was established in 1815 after the Congress of Vienna, including 35 states. 5 more were added at the conclusion of the 1820 treaty. The first president was Francis I of Austria, named as such due to his former leadership of the Holy Roman Empire. Politically, the union was fairly loose and the leader of the Confederation had power only over matters pertaining to the whole extent of its territory.

Metternich reforms
The death of Francis I left the Confederation without a president, since the succession of the position had been postponed indefinitely due to a lack of accord during the Congress of Vienna. A series of reforms introduced by the Chancellor of Austria Klemens von Metternich, along with the Prussian king Frederick William IV, established the first internal legislature of the German Confederation: the Imperial Law. This named the House of Habsburg as the "eternal holder of the office of President of the German Confederation", while creating the German People's Council, a congregation of advisors to the monarchs of Austria and Prussia, as well as envoys of each of the other states of the Confederation. The Council met in Frankfurt every three months and had the power to create legislature that globally affected all German states.