"" (; "Our Beautiful Homeland") is the
national anthem
A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European n ...
of
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
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, capit ...
. Often simply referred to as "" ("Our Beautiful") in Croatia, it is a phrase widely used as a
metonym
Metonymy () is a figure of speech in which a concept is referred to by the name of something closely associated with that thing or concept.
Etymology
The words ''metonymy'' and ''metonym'' come from grc, μετωνυμία, 'a change of name' ...
for the country.
History
![Spomenik hrvatskoj himni-1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/Spomenik_hrvatskoj_himni-1.jpg)
The original lyrics were written by
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 ...
and first published under the title ''Horvatska domovina'' (''Croatian homeland'') in 1835.
In 1846,
Josip Runjanin
Josip Runjanin (; 8 December 1821 – 2 February 1878) was a soldier and composer from the Austrian Empire best known for composing the melody of ''Lijepa naša domovino'', which later became the Croatian national anthem.
Life
Runjanin was born Jo ...
(1821–1878) composed the music for ''Horvatska domovina''.
Runjanin's army bandmaster Josip Wendl adapted his music for a military brass orchestra.
The original form of the melody is unknown because the original has not been recovered to this day.
The song was scored and harmonized for a male choir by a teacher and organist of the
Zagreb Cathedral
, native_name_lang =
, image = Zagreb Cathedral 2020.jpg
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, landscape =
, caption =Zagreb Cathedral in 2020, ...
Vatroslav Lichtenegger Vatroslav Lichtenegger (1809-1885) was a Croatian music teachr and composer.
Born in Podčetrtek, he moved to Zagreb around 1827, and became a choralist in the Zagreb Cathedral as well as a teacher at the Croatian Music Institute.
Lichtenegger wa ...
in 1861, and after that it started to be performed as the
Croatian people
The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Croatia, culture, History of Croatia, history and Croatian language, language. They are also a recogn ...
's ethnic anthem.
The title "Lijepa naša" has been applied since that time. The original text has 14 verses. Since then, a few minor adjustments have been made to the lyrics.
The song was not immediately adopted by the
Croatian Parliament
The Croatian Parliament ( hr, Hrvatski sabor) or the Sabor is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Croatia. Under the terms of the Croatian Constitution, the Sabor represents the people and is vested with legislative power. The Sabor ...
as the national anthem. In 1907, the Association of Croatian Singing Clubs requested the parliament to do so but received no response, even though the song was used as the state anthem in unofficial capacity at ceremonies, including the 29 October 1918 session of parliament when
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
formally dissolved its ties with
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
.
Between 1918 and 1941, segments of the Croatian national anthem were part of the
national anthem of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The "National anthem of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia" ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Himna Kraljevine Jugoslavije, Химна Краљевине Југославије, Anthem of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia) was created in December 1918 from the national anthems of ...
and it was unofficial hymn of Croats. During the
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, in the
Independent State of Croatia
The Independent State of Croatia ( sh, Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH; german: Unabhängiger Staat Kroatien; it, Stato indipendente di Croazia) was a World War II-era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist It ...
it was also used as state anthem, albeit with some modifications to the lyrics.
[ ]Croatian Partisans
The Croatian Partisans, officially the National Liberation Movement in Croatia ( hr, Narodnooslobodilački pokret u Hrvatskoj; NOP), were part of the anti-fascist National Liberational Movement in the Axis-occupied Yugoslavia which was the most ...
were also using it, for example during ZAVNOH
The State Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Croatia (''Zemaljsko antifašističko vijeće narodnog oslobođenja Hrvatske''), commonly abbreviated ZAVNOH, was first convened on 13–14 June 1943 in Otočac and Plitvice as the ...
sessions.
The song officially became the state anthem of Croatia through amendments of the Constitution of Croatia
The Constitution of the Republic of Croatia ( hr, Ustav Republike Hrvatske) is promulgated by the Croatian Parliament.
History
While it was part of the socialist Yugoslavia, the Socialist Republic of Croatia had its own Constitution under the ...
adopted by the parliament of the SR Croatia
The Socialist Republic of Croatia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Hrvatska, Социјалистичка Република Хрватска), or SR Croatia, was a constituent republic and federated state of the Social ...
on 29 February 1972. It was confirmed by constitutions of 1974 and 1990, when its lyrics were slightly modified, and by the Coat of Arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...
, the Flag
A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...
and the National Anthem of the Republic of Croatia Act.[
]
Lyrics
Official lyrics
On most occasions, only the first verse is performed.
Lyrics to ''Horvatska domovina''
The poem first published in the cultural magazine ''Danica ilirska
Danica ilirska was the first Croatian literary magazine launched on 10 January 1835 as a weekly supplement to ''Novine horvatske'' newspaper in Zagreb, the Kingdom of Croatia.
It was initially published under the title of ''Danicza horvatzka, slav ...
'', No. 10, edited by Ljudevit Gaj, in 1835[http://www.nsk.hr/horvatska-domovina/ (pristupljeno 14. ožujka 2013.)][http://fluminensia.org/mihanovic-u-rijeci-napisao-lijepu-nasu (pristupljeno 14. ožujka 2013.)] originally consisted of fourteen verses but today, only verses one, two, thirteen, and fourteen are part of the national anthem.
Notes
References
Further reading
*
External links
Croatia: ''Lijepa naša domovino'' – Audio of the national anthem of Croatia, with information and lyrics
archive link
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lijepa nasa domovino
1846 songs
Croatian songs
European anthems
National symbols of Croatia
National anthems
National anthem compositions in C major