Land der Berge, Land am Strome
Encyclopedia
Land der Berge, Land am Strome (Land of the mountains, land on the river) is the national anthem
of Austria
.
Nineteen days before his death on December 5, 1791, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
composed his last complete work, the Freimaurerkantate, K. 623. In parts of the printed edition of this cantata there appeared the song K. 623a "" (Let us with joined hands). To this melody the Austrian national anthem is sung. Today, Mozart's authorship is regarded as dubious and the song is attributed to Johann Holzer (1753–1818). The lyrics were written by the Croatian-Austrian writer Paula von Preradović
, one of the few women to have written lyrics for a national anthem. On October 22, 1946, it was declared Austria's official national anthem.
. In 2005, Women's Minister Maria Rauch-Kallat
from the Austrian People's Party
(ÖVP) stated her objection to the words sons, fraternal and Fatherland in the lyrics and proposed changes. Her proposal met strong resistance by Austria's largest newspaper, the Kronen Zeitung
, and failed to gain support from the then coalition partner, the Alliance for the Future of Austria
(BZÖ).
In January 2010 Austrian pop singer Christina Stürmer
presented a pop version of the hymn "Heimat bist du großer Söhne und Töchter" (You are home to great sons and daughters) as part of a campaign by the Austrian federal ministry of education. She was sued for violation of copyright by the estate of Paula von Preradović
but subsequently cleared by the Austrian Supreme Court who called it "a mere modernisation" and allowed the version to stand.
National anthem
A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognized either by a nation's government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people.- History :Anthems rose to prominence...
of Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
.
Nineteen days before his death on December 5, 1791, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
composed his last complete work, the Freimaurerkantate, K. 623. In parts of the printed edition of this cantata there appeared the song K. 623a "" (Let us with joined hands). To this melody the Austrian national anthem is sung. Today, Mozart's authorship is regarded as dubious and the song is attributed to Johann Holzer (1753–1818). The lyrics were written by the Croatian-Austrian writer Paula von Preradović
Paula von Preradovic
Paula Preradović , known professionally as Paula von Preradović or by her married name as Paula Molden, was a Croatian and Austrian writer and narrator....
, one of the few women to have written lyrics for a national anthem. On October 22, 1946, it was declared Austria's official national anthem.
Lyrics
Land of fields, land of cathedrals, Land of hammers, with a promising future, You are home to great sons, A nation highly blessed with beauty, Much-praised Austria, Much-praised Austria! |
|
You lie in the middle of the continent Like a strong heart, Since the early days of the ancestors you have Borne the burden of a high mission, Much tried Austria, Much tried Austria. |
|
See us striding, free, and faithful, Assiduous and full of hope, Unified, in fraternal choirs, let us Pledge allegiance to you, Fatherland Much beloved Austria, Much beloved Austria. |
Parody
It is said that, the same evening after von Preradović learned that her lyrics were chosen for the national anthem, her sons, Otto and Fritz Molden, composed a satirical version of the anthem.Land of the four zones of occupation, we sell you on the black market, Much beloved Austria! And up there over the Hermannskogel gladly the federal bird flutters. |
Attempts of gender-neutral language
Since the 1990s, several attempts have been made to modify the lyrics to a more Gender-neutral languageGender-neutral language
Gender-neutral language, gender-inclusive language, inclusive language, or gender neutrality is linguistic prescriptivism that aims to eliminate reference to gender in terms that describe people...
. In 2005, Women's Minister Maria Rauch-Kallat
Maria Rauch-Kallat
-References:...
from the Austrian People's Party
Austrian People's Party
The Austrian People's Party is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Austria. A successor to the Christian Social Party of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it is similar to the Christian Democratic Union of Germany in terms of ideology...
(ÖVP) stated her objection to the words sons, fraternal and Fatherland in the lyrics and proposed changes. Her proposal met strong resistance by Austria's largest newspaper, the Kronen Zeitung
Kronen Zeitung
The Kronen Zeitung, commonly known as the Krone, is Austria's largest newspaper. According to a Österreichische Media-Analyse study, the average daily readership is 2,970,000 , which corresponds to 43,7% of all newspaper readers...
, and failed to gain support from the then coalition partner, the Alliance for the Future of Austria
Alliance for the Future of Austria
The Alliance for the Future of Austria , abbreviated to BZÖ, is a conservative liberal political party in Austria. The party has sixteen seats in the National Council....
(BZÖ).
In January 2010 Austrian pop singer Christina Stürmer
Christina Stürmer
Christina Stürmer is an Austrian pop/rock singer. After working at a bookshop in Linz and singing in several bands, she reached #2 in Starmania, an Austrian music casting TV show...
presented a pop version of the hymn "Heimat bist du großer Söhne und Töchter" (You are home to great sons and daughters) as part of a campaign by the Austrian federal ministry of education. She was sued for violation of copyright by the estate of Paula von Preradović
Paula von Preradovic
Paula Preradović , known professionally as Paula von Preradović or by her married name as Paula Molden, was a Croatian and Austrian writer and narrator....
but subsequently cleared by the Austrian Supreme Court who called it "a mere modernisation" and allowed the version to stand.
Use in popular culture
- The Austrian anthem has been elected as a "lorem ipsumLorem ipsumIn publishing and graphic design, lorem ipsum[p] is placeholder text commonly used to demonstrate the graphics elements of a document or visual presentation, such as font, typography, and layout...
"-like input text for the evalbots on the #perl6 channel on Freenode, due to its non-ASCII characters, and the occasional Austria-related in-jokes on the channel.
External links
- Bundeshymne at Chancellery, Austrian Federal Government
- Land der Berge, Land am Strome - audio, lyrics and information
- Vocal version of the anthem
- Instrumental version