Religious and economic differences combined with suspicion about Prussia kept the German states divided. The strength of Austria and varied aims of the nationalists also made unification unlikely.
Part of HistoryGermany (1815-1939)
The Reformation had begun in Germany in the 1500s. By the end of the movement, a significant number of German states had converted to Protestantism.
This led to a major barrier to unification in the 1800s:
This religious schism meant that unification would be difficult to bring about.