Pillnitz, Declaration of 1791
Pillnitz, Declaration of (1791)
a declaration signed on Aug. 27, 1791, during the French Revolution, in the castle of Pillnitz in Saxony. The signers were the Holy Roman emperor Leopold II and the Prussian king Frederick William II.
The Declaration of Pillnitz affirmed the intention of Austria and Prussia to intervene in France’s affairs for the purpose of strengthening royal authority there. Threatening revolutionary France with armed intervention, Austria and Prussia appealed to all European states to join with them. Based on the Declaration of Pillnitz and the preliminary Austro-Prussian treaty that preceded it, an Austro-Prussian treaty of alliance was concluded in February, 1792, laying the foundation for a coalition of European monarchs against revolutionary France.