Klemens von Metternich (1773-1859) was a German nobel, who afterwards became prince and an important diplomat in the centre of European politics during the Restoration period, until the revolutions of 1848 began.
The Metternich System, Congress System or Vienna System, initiated after the Congress of Viena (1815), guided international relationships in the continent during the period delimited above. It consisted on using congresses and multilateral treaties for conflict resolution and to prevent that they can end up escalating to war. Hence, the ultimate goal of the system was to keep peace.
The more conservative parties used the Metternich system aiming to extinguish the revolutionary movements that were flourishing in Europe, to weaken the nationalisms and to restore the former power balances.
