The National Anthem of Austria (Bundeshymne der Republik Österreich), also known by its incipit "Land der Berge, Land am Strome" ('Land of the Peaks, Land by the Stream'), was adopted in 1946. The melody, originally attributed to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, was matched with a text by Paula von Preradović the following year. The composer of the song remains disputed among various composers today and has been attributed to either Johann Holzer 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" ("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 (either solely or co-authored with Mozart) 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 (it was also the co-national anthem of Germany during National Socialist rule). 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, one of the few women to have written lyrics for a national anthem. 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 (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 rock version of the hymn "Heimat bist du großer Söhne " ('Thou art home to great sons ') 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

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 Fritz Molden composed a satirical version of them. <poem style="float:left;">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! <poem style="margin-left:1em; float:left;">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 media researcher Peter Diem, the first two of these lines were popular in the schools of Vienna in 1955.

Drahdiwaberl

In 1979, the music group Drahdiwaberl 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. <poem style="float:left;">Land der Äcker, Land der Dome Land am Strom ohne Atome, Land der Titel und Diplome Heimat bist du großer Söhne Heimat bist du großer Töchter Zusatzvers der Frauenrechtler Land der unmöglich begrenzten, Land der Berg’, der allerschensten, Land der Seen und Lipizzaner, Der Prohaskas und des Klammer Land der Krone, Land des Staberl Land der Gruppe Drahdiwaberl. <poem style="margin-left:1em; float:left;">Land of the fields, land of holy place 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.

Rotzpipn

In 2012, the Viennese band Rotzpipn won the 9th protest song contest with their "Hymne 2.0". The jury included Ernst Molden, grandson of Paula von Preradović, who gave the group the highest score.