National anthem of Austria
The National Anthem of Austria, also known by its incipit "Land der Berge, Land am Strome", was adopted without lyrics in 1946. The melody, which at that time was incorrectly attributed to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, was matched with a text by Paula von Preradović the following year.
The melody's origin is not definitively known, and over time several possible composers have been suggested; today it is usually attributed to either or Paul Wranitzky.
History
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". To this melody the Austrian national anthem is sung. Today, claims of Mozart's authorship are regarded as dubious among scholars and the song is attributed to or Paul Wranitzky.Before the World War II Anschluss, Austria's state anthem was "Sei gesegnet ohne Ende", set to the tune of Haydn's "Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser", the state anthem of imperial Austria since 1797. The current German national anthem "Deutschlandlied" uses the same tune, but with different words. To avoid the association, and because singing it was banned for a time after the war, a new state anthem was created. The lyrics were written by Paula von Preradović. On 22 October 1946, the song was officially declared Austria's national anthem, albeit without words. Lyrics were added in February 1947. On 1 January 2012, parts of the lyrics were changed to make the composition gender-neutral.
Attempts at 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 of the Austrian People's Party 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.In January 2010, Austrian pop singer Christina Stürmer presented a pop rock version of the hymn "Heimat bist du großer Söhne " 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 of Justice who called it "a mere modernisation" and allowed the version to stand.
Since 1 January 2012, a few words in the state anthem are different from before. The text and notes of the state anthem were officially codified in the Federal Act of the National Anthem of the Republic of Austria.
Lyrics
Only the first verse is considered official and performed during official events.Slovene verse
A Slovene-language version of the third verse was written for the Carinthian Slovenes of Carinthia. It was translated from the pre-2012 German version of the third verse.Music
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\new Voice="melody" \relative c''
\new Lyrics \lyricsto "melody"
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Parodies
Otto and Fritz Molden
The same evening after von Preradović learned that her lyrics were chosen for the national anthem, her sons Otto and composed a satirical version of them.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 media researcher, the first two of these lines were popular in the schools of Vienna in 1955.
Drahdiwaberl
In 1979, the music group released their parody of "Land der Berge, Land am Strone", titled "Kaiserhymne / Pink Punk Shirt". The following text is modeled after von Preradović's lyrics and sung to the same tune.Land on the river without atoms,
Land of titles and diplomas
Home thou art of great sons
Home thou art of great daughters
Additional verse from feminists
Land of the impossibly limited,
Land of the peaks, the most beautiful,
Land of lakes and the Lipizzans,
The Prohaskas and the Klammer
Land of the crown, land of the Staberl
Land of the Drahdiwaberl group.