English: 'Hail to Thee in Victor's Crown' | |
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Former national anthem of the German Empire Former royal anthem of Prussia | |
Lyrics | Heinrich Harries, 1790 |
Music | "God Save the King" |
Adopted | 1795 (by Prussia) 1871 (by Germany) |
Relinquished | 1918 |
Succeeded by | "Das Lied der Deutschen" |
Audio sample | |
Old vocal recording in A major |
"Heil dir im Siegerkranz" (German: [ˈhaɪl diːɐ ɪm ˈziːɡɐˌkʁant͡s]; lit. 'Hail to Thee in Victor's Crown') was the imperial anthem of the German Empire from 1871 to 1918, and previously the royal anthem of Prussia from 1795 to 1918.[1]
Before the foundation of the Empire in 1871, it had been the royal anthem of Prussia since 1795 and remained as the royal anthem after 1871.[2] The melody of the hymn derived from the British anthem "God Save the King". For these reasons, the song failed to become popular within all of Germany. Not only did it fail to win the support of most German nationalists, but it also was never recognized by the southern German states, such as Bavaria or Württemberg.[3] At the near end of World War I, the German Empire was overthrown and "Das Lied der Deutschen" was adopted as the national anthem of its successor, the Weimar Republic.[4]
It is often considered the official national anthem of the German Empire.[5][6] However the German Empire never had an official anthem like the Weimar Republic or the Federal Republic of Germany (Lied der Deutschen). Together with "Die Wacht am Rhein" both songs had the status of unofficial national anthems.