The Peace of LeobenBritannica
/ref> was a general

armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the ...

and preliminary peace agreement between the Holy Roman Empire and the First French Republic that ended the War of the First Coalition. It was signed at Eggenwaldsches Gartenhaus, near Leoben, on 18 April 1797 (29 germinal V in the French revolutionary calendar) by General Maximilian von Merveldt and the Marquis of Gallo on behalf of the

Emperor Francis II Francis II (german: Franz II.; 12 February 1768 – 2 March 1835) was the last Holy Roman Emperor (from 1792 to 1806) and the founder and Emperor of the Austrian Empire, from 1804 to 1835. He assumed the title of Emperor of Austria in response ...

and by General

Napoléon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

on behalf of the French Directory. Ratifications were exchanged in Montebello on 24 May, and the treaty came into effect immediately. On 30 March, Bonaparte had made his headquarters at Klagenfurt and from there, on 31 March, he sent a letter to the Austrian commander-in-chief, Archduke Charles, requesting an armistice to prevent the further loss of life. Receiving no response, the French advanced as far as Judenburg by the evening of 7 April. That night, Charles proffered a truce for five days, which was accepted. On 13 April, Merveldt went to the French headquarters at Leoben. He requested the armistice be extended so that a preliminary peace could be signed, which was granted, and three proposals were drawn up. The final one was accepted by both sides, and on 18 April at Leoben, the preliminary peace was signed. The treaty contained nine public articles and eleven secret ones. In the public articles, the Emperor ceded his "Belgian Provinces" (the Austrian Netherlands), and in the secret articles, he ceded his Italian states ( Lombardy) in exchange for the Italian mainland possessions of the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia ...

, which had not yet been conquered. Except for these personal losses to the ruling Habsburgs, the treaty preserved the integrity of the Holy Roman Empire, unlike in the amplified Treaty of Campo Formio of 17 October 1797. No final peace between the Holy Roman Empire and France was reached before the outbreak of the War of the Second Coalition in 1799.

Notes

Sources

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External links

Text of treaty in original French
* {{French Revolution 1797 in the Southern Netherlands Leoben Austria–France relations Leoben Leoben Leoben Leoben 1797 treaties 1797 in Austria 1797 in France 1797 in Italy 1797 in the Habsburg Monarchy 1797 in the Holy Roman Empire France–Holy Roman Empire relations Fall of the Republic of Venice