Austria refused to revive the German imperial title in 1814

In November 1814, twenty-nine sovereigns of small and medium-sized states proposed reintroducing the imperial dignity in Germany to counter the dominance of the new kings of Württemberg, Bavaria, and Saxony. Francis II and his chancellor Metternich refused this office, which they deemed to be a burden devoid of true rights as head of the Empire. The Congress of Vienna therefore dissolved without renewing the Empire, before the founding of the German Confederation on June 8, 1815.