Land der Berge, Land am Strome

Land der Berge, Land am Strome
English: Land of the mountains, land by the river

National anthem of  Austria

Lyrics Paula von Preradović
Music Johann Holzer
Adopted 1946

Music sample
Land der Berge, Land am Strome (Instrumental)

Land der Berge, Land am Strome (German pronunciation: [ˈlant dɐ ˈbɛɐ̯ˌgə ˈlant am ʃtrɔmə]; Land of mountains, land by the river [Danube]) is the national anthem of Austria.

Nineteen days before his death on 5 December 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 "Lasst uns mit geschlungnen Händen" ("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).[1] The lyrics were written by Paula von Preradović, one of the few women to have written lyrics for a national anthem.[2] On 22 October 1946, it was declared Austria's official national anthem. On 1 January 2012, parts of the lyrics were changed to make the anthem gender-neutral.

Before the World War II Anschluss, Austria's anthem was Sei gesegnet ohne Ende, to the tune of Haydn's Gott erhalte, the anthem of imperial Austria since 1797. The Lied der Deutschen uses the same tune, but with different words, and was also the anthem of the Third Reich. To avoid the association, and because singing it was banned for a time after the war, a new anthem was created.

Lyrics

External image
Score at aeiou Encyclopedia
German lyrics English translation

Land der Berge, Land am Strome,
Land der Äcker, Land der Dome,
Land der Hämmer, zukunftsreich!
Heimat großer Töchter und Söhne,
Volk, begnadet für das Schöne,
Vielgerühmtes Österreich,
Vielgerühmtes Österreich!

Land of mountains, land by the river,
Land of fields, land of cathedrals,
Land of hammers, with a promising future!
Home to great daughters and sons,
A nation highly blessed with beauty,
Much-praised Austria,
Much-praised Austria!

Heiß umfehdet, wild umstritten,
Liegst dem Erdteil du inmitten
Einem starken Herzen gleich.
Hast seit frühen Ahnentagen
Hoher Sendung Last getragen,
Vielgeprüftes Österreich,
Vielgeprüftes Österreich.

Strongly feuded for, fiercely hard-fought for,
You lie in the middle of the continent
Like a strong heart,
Since the early days of the ancestors thou hast
Borne the burden of a high mission,
Much-tried Austria,
Much-tried Austria.

Mutig in die neuen Zeiten,
Frei und gläubig sieh uns schreiten,
Arbeitsfroh und hoffnungsreich.
Einig lass in Jubelchören,
Heimatland, dir Treue schwören.
Vielgeliebtes Österreich,
Vielgeliebtes Österreich.

Bravely towards the new ages
See us striding, free, and faithful,
Assiduous and full of hope,
Unified, let us in jolly choirs
Pledge allegiance to thee, Homeland
Much-beloved Austria,
Much-beloved Austria.

Original (pre-2012) lyrics had the line Heimat bist du großer Söhne (Home art thou to great sons) instead of Heimat großer Töchter und Söhne on first verse as well as Brüderchören (fraternal choirs) instead of Jubelchören (jolly choirs) and Vaterland (Fatherland) instead of Heimatland (Homeland) on third verse.

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.[3]

German lyrics English translation

Land der Erbsen, Land der Bohnen,
Land der vier Besatzungszonen,
Wir verkaufen dich im Schleich!
Und droben überm Hermannskogel
Flattert froh der Bundesvogel.
Vielgeliebtes Österreich!

Land of the peas, land of the beans,
Land of the four zones of occupation,
we sell thee on the black market!
And up there over the Hermannskogel
gladly the federal bird flutters.
Much beloved Austria!

According to Peter Diem, who graduated in 1955, then the first two of these lines in the Viennese schools were popular.[4]

Attempts of gender-neutral language

Since the 1990s, several attempts have been made to modify the lyrics to use more gender-neutral language. 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.[5] 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" ("Thou art home to great sons and daughters", Bildungshymne on YouTube) 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 [6] who called it "a mere modernisation" and allowed the version to stand.

Since 1 January 2012 a few words in the anthem are different from before. The line "Heimat bist du großer Söhne" was replaced by (metrically not fitting) "Heimat großer Töchter und Söhne". As a result, the anthem became gender-neutral. Also, the anthem was officially codified in the "Bundesgesetz über die Bundeshymne der Republik Österreich" (engl. Federal Act about the Federal Anthem of the Austrian Republic"). So were its notes. Both the law and the notes can be seen here.

Notes

  1. ↑ Werke zweifelhafter Echtheit – Band 3 Orchesterwerke und Lieder, vol. X/29/3, pp. xxxiii, xxxiv, Neue Mozart-Ausgabe
  2. ↑ "Austria—Land der Berge, Land am Strome". NationalAnthems.me. Retrieved 2011-12-01.
  3. ↑ Fepolinski und Waschlapski auf dem berstenden Stern. Bericht einer unruhigen Jugend. Ibera & Molden, Wien 1997, ISBN 3-900436-42-8.
  4. ↑ Diem, Peter. "Land der Berge, Land am Strome...". Documentary about the making of the national anthem, version 168, third December 2011. In: Knowledge Collection of Austria-Forum: Die Symbole Österreichs.
  5. ↑ "Austrian national anthem 'sexist'". BBC news. 26 September 2005. Retrieved 13 April 2008.
  6. ↑ Decision "Bundeshymne II/Rock me Paula", Austrian Supreme Court (4Ob171/10s, 15 December 2010) (German)
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