Frankfurt Constitution

The Frankfurt Constitution (German: Frankfurter Reichsverfassung) or Constitution of St. Paul's Church (Paulskirchenverfassung), officially named the Constitution of the German Empire (Verfassung des Deutschen Reiches) of 28 March 1849, was an unsuccessful attempt to create a unified German nation from the states of the German Confederation.

The Frankfurt National Assembly drew up the constitution during the German revolutions of 1848–1849 for the emerging German Empire of 1848–1849, which was committed to popular sovereignty and had already created a Provisional Central Power (Provisorische Zentralgewalt) for Germany. The National Assembly adopted the constitution on 28 March 1849, and twenty-eight German states collectively recognized it on 14 April.

The constitution created a constitutional monarchy with a hereditary emperor who appointed ministers responsible to himself. The main legislative body, the Reichstag, had two chambers, the Volkshaus (House of the People), which was to be elected by universal male suffrage, and the Staatenhaus (House of States), half of whose members were to be appointed by the state governments and half by the state parliaments. The fundamental rights of the German people were enforceable before an imperial court.

The largest German states, notably Prussia, actively opposed both the constitution and the National Assembly, and many conservative governments found the Frankfurt Constitution too liberal. The power struggle between Prussia and Austria also played a role. The southern German kingdoms, in particular Bavaria and Württemberg, favoured a confederation of states that would include Austria. Because of the opposition, elections to the new Reichstag never took place, and the National Assembly was unable to enforce the Constitution. With the failure of the 1848 revolution, the Frankfurt Constitution was not implemented. It was nevertheless Germany's first democratic constitution and the first to encompass the entire nation. In the years and decades that followed, the Frankfurt Constitution inspired politicians and had an influence on both state and later national constitutions such as the Constitution of the German Empire. The constitution's extensive catalogue of fundamental rights was especially important.