The Prussian King Wilhelm is proclaimed German Emperor
Tensions between France and Prussia increased following the dissolution of the German Confederation in 1866. When war eventually broke out in 1870, the central and southern German states sided with Prussia. German troops invaded France, routed its armies and even captured Emperor Napoleon III. Smarting at defeat, the French proclaimed a republic and prepared to continue the war.
Whilst German troops laid siege to Paris, the German princes met there on 1 January 1871 and decided to form a nation state; William I of Prussia was officially proclaimed as the first Emperor of Germany in the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles on 18 January. An armistice was concluded soon afterwards and the subsequent peace treaty forced France to pay heavy reparations and cede Alsace-Lorraine to the new German Empire.
About the Deutschlandmuseum
An immersive and innovative experience museum about 2000 years of German history