Josip Runjanin (; 8 December 1821 – 2 February 1878) was a soldier and composer from the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence ...

best known for composing the melody of ''

Lijepa naša domovino "" (; "Our Beautiful Homeland") is the national anthem of Croatia. Often simply referred to as "" ("Our Beautiful") in Croatia, it is a phrase widely used as a metonym for the country. History The original lyrics were written by Antun Mihan ...

'', which later became the Croatian national anthem.

Life

Runjanin was born Josif Runjanin to a

Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

family on 8 December 1821 and baptized in the Serbian Orthodox Church of Pentecost in

Vinkovci Vinkovci () is a city in Slavonia, in the Vukovar-Syrmia County in eastern Croatia. The city's registered population was 28,247 in the 2021 census, the total population of the city was 31,057, making it the largest town of the county. Surround ...

. He received his education in Vinkovci, and then

Sremski Karlovci Sremski Karlovci ( sr-cyrl, Сремски Карловци, ; hu, Karlóca; tr, Karlofça) is a town and municipality located in the South Bačka District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It is situated on the banks of the Danu ...

. He served in the Imperial Army as a cadet in the town of

Glina Glina is a word of Slavic origin, meaning "clay". It may refer to: * Glina (river) in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina *Glina, Croatia, a town in Croatia ** Glina massacres, 1941 * Glina, Piotrków County in Łódź Voivodeship (central Poland) * ...

along the

Military Frontier The Military Frontier (german: Militärgrenze, sh-Latn, Vojna krajina/Vojna granica, Војна крајина/Војна граница; hu, Katonai határőrvidék; ro, Graniță militară) was a borderland of the Habsburg monarchy and ...

in the

Croatian Military Frontier The Croatian Military Frontier ( hr, Vojna krajina or ') was a district of the Military Frontier, a territory in the Habsburg monarchy, first during the period of the Austrian Empire and then during Austria-Hungary. History Founded in the late 1 ...

district. While serving in Glina, he attained the rank of captain, and became proficient in playing the

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

, being taught by the military bandmaster of Glina. There, he was introduced to the Illyrist circles, where he met noted poet

Antun Mihanović Antun Mihanović (10 June 1796 – 14 November 1861) was a Croatian poet and lyricist, most famous for writing the national anthem of Croatia, which was put to music by Josif Runjanin and adopted in 1891. Klanjec, his birthplace, holds a monumen ...

. It is generally agreed that Runjanin, an amateur musician, composed the music for Mihanović's

patriotic Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and sense of attachment to one's country. This attachment can be a combination of many different feelings, language relating to one's own homeland, including ethnic, cultural, political or histor ...

Croatian poem " Horvatska domovina" in 1846 using inspiration from Gaetano Donizetti's aria "O sole piu ratto a sorger t'appresta" from the third act of his opera ''

Lucia di Lammermoor ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' () is a (tragic opera) in three acts by Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian-language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's 1819 historical novel '' The Bride of Lammermoo ...

'', according to Croatian musicologist Josip Andreis. His song "Ljubimo te naša diko" was composed using motives from Donizetti's '' L'elisir d'amore''. "Ljubimo te naša diko (Hrvati svome banu)" was composed in honour of the

Ban of Croatia Ban of Croatia ( hr, Hrvatski ban) was the title of local rulers or office holders and after 1102, viceroys of Croatia. From the earliest periods of the Croatian state, some provinces were ruled by bans as a ruler's representative (viceroy) an ...

, Josip Jelačić.Republika. Page 41, note 2
/ref> The Croatian anthem by Mihanović and Runjanin would be first played in the streets of

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...

in 1891 during the Croatian-Slavonian exhibit, so both men only achieved postmortem fame. An obedient soldier, Runjanin was later made

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

. In 1864 at the age of 43, Runjanin married the daughter of the pensioned captain Toma Perković. As a representative of the First Banate regiment, he entered the Croatian Assembly in 1865. After retirement, Runjanin moved to

Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; hu, Újvidék, ; german: Neusatz; see below for other names) is the second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pan ...

where he died at the age of 57 on 2 February 1878 and was buried at the

Serbian Orthodox The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian churches. The majori ...

cemetery.

Legacy

There are several schools in Croatia named after Runjanin, most notably the Elementary Music School of Josip Runjanin (''Osnovna glazbena škola Josipa Runjanina'') in Vinkovci.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Runjanin, Josip 1821 births 1878 deaths 19th-century composers 19th-century male musicians Austro-Hungarian Serbs Croatian composers Male composers National anthem writers Musicians from Novi Sad People from Vinkovci Serbian composers Serbs of Croatia