Land reform in the Austrian Empire Land reform in the Austrian Empire Land reforms were done in the Austrian Empire following the liberal revolutions of 1848. In 1849, the newly elected Constituent Assembly gave the peasants title to their holdings with no further obligation to the landlords (this is in contrast to the previous Land reform in the Habsburg monarchy, which sought to liberate the peasants but required them to pay rents). Differences in types of tenure were eliminated, and the distinction between noble and peasant land was obliterated. Nobles were also released from any obligation to the peasants. The redemption price on land was set
Revolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Empire culture among students and those educated either in Josephine schools or German universities. They published pamphlets and newspapers discussing education and language; the need for basic liberal reforms was assumed. These middle class liberals largely understood and accepted that forced labor is not efficient, and that the Empire should adopt a wage labor system. The question was how to institute such reforms. Notable liberal clubs of the time in Vienna included the Legal-Political Reading Club (established 1842) and Concordia Society (1840). They, like the Lower Austrian Manufacturers' Association (1840) were part of a culture that criticized Metternich's government from the