The February Revolution in 1848 in Paris served to detonate the European-wide revolution in 1848-49. The revolutionary wave was the result of worsening economic and political conditions. The cities of Munich, Vienna, Budapest, Berlin, Poznań and Madrid all revolted in March 1848. Constitutions guaranteeing certain rights and freedoms were introduced in the majority of countries. A revolt broke out in September 1848 in the Kingdom of Hungary and the Imperial Diet met in Kroměříž from November 1848. Franz Joseph I of Austria ascended the throne in December 1848. Kroměříž was occupied by the army and the Diet disbanded in March 1849. The revolution in the Kingdom of Hungary was brutally repressed while the rest of Europe gradually settled down. The new constitutions, however, remained valid in a number of countries allowing for the development of Modern civic society.