Also called German dualism; With the rise of Prussia to the status of a European great power during the 17th and 18th century, struggles with the Austrian Empire for supremacy in central Europe became inevitable. With the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire and its loose continuation in the German Confederation, rivalry became worse. All over Germany nationalists demanded a unified Germany, whereas the actual territory of this domain was quite unclear. Due to these and other ( e.g. Prussian constitutional conflict) domestic tensions, both parties tried to gain foreign politic successes to soothe these tensions, leading to the Austro-Prussian War in 1866.