How was it that Prussia rather than Austria, had achieved the dominant position in Germany by 1866?

The Congress of Vienna had been a meeting of the powers, to dictate the borders and boundaries of Europe. When they re - divided the Confederation of the Rhine into the Confederation of the Germanic states Austria became the dominant power in this area, at least initially. By 1866 Prussia was now the dominant power in Germany and how they got there is quite clever. The Unification of Germany is a result of the shift in power from Austria to Prussia.
The first step that began Prussia down the road of power was when Bismarck is appointed President – Minister of Prussia. He was appointed to help the King solve his financial problems. The parliament was refusing him funding to build his military. Bismarck managed to find the funding by using loopholes in the parliamentary responsibilities. He gained the funding from the budgets that weren’t directly under their control. He also used these loopholes to solve the problem of crown vs. parliamentary stalemates. He established the Lü...