Mu isamaa, mu õnn ja rõõm
"italic=no" is the national anthem of Estonia, originally adopted in 1920.
The lyrics were written by Johann Voldemar Jannsen and are set to a melody composed in 1848 by Fredrik Pacius, which is also that of the Finnish national anthem "Maamme", then the unofficial anthem of the Grand Duchy of Finland. The only differences between the two anthems are their key signature and the repetition of the last four lines of each verse in the Finnish anthem. The melody is also used as an ethnic anthem of the Livonian people, titled "Min izāmō".
History
The song was first presented to the public as a choral work in the Grand Song Festival of Estonia in 1869 and quickly became a symbol of the Estonian National Awakening."Mu isamaa, mu õnn ja rõõm" was officially adopted as the national anthem of Estonia in 1920, after the Estonian War of Independence.
During 1940–1941, and again in 1944, the Soviet Union occupied Estonia, and "Mu isamaa, mu õnn ja rõõm" was subsequently banned by the Soviet government. The Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic had its own official regional anthem. However, the Estonians could often hear their former national anthem, as Finland's state broadcaster Yleisradio, whose radio and television broadcasts were received in northern Estonia, played an instrumental version of the Finnish national anthem, identical to this song, at the conclusion of its broadcast every night.
In 1990, with the restoration of Estonian independence, use of the anthem and other symbols of the Estonian SSR was terminated and "Mu isamaa, mu õnn ja rõõm" was restored as the national anthem.
The lyrics of the anthem were translated into Võro by Sulev Iva on 23 August 2005.
Lyrics
| Estonian original | IPA transcription |