"" (; "My Fatherland, My Happiness and Joy") is the
national anthem of
Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
. It was adopted as the national anthem () in 1920.
The lyrics were written by
Johann Voldemar Jannsen and are set to a melody composed in 1848 by
Fredrik (Friedrich) Pacius which is also that of the
national anthem of
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
: "
Maamme" ( sv, Vårt land, which was the unofficial anthem of the
Grand Duchy of Finland
The Grand Duchy of Finland ( fi, Suomen suuriruhtinaskunta; sv, Storfurstendömet Finland; russian: Великое княжество Финляндское, , all of which literally translate as Grand Principality of Finland) was the predecess ...
).
The only differences between the two anthems are their
key signature
In Western musical notation, a key signature is a set of sharp (), flat (), or rarely, natural () symbols placed on the staff at the beginning of a section of music. The initial key signature in a piece is placed immediately after the clef a ...
and the repetition of the last four lines of each verse in the Finnish anthem. It is also considered to be an ethnic anthem for
Livonian people
The Livonians, or Livs ( Livonian: ''līvlizt''; Estonian: ''liivlased''; Latvian: ''līvi'', ''lībieši''), are a Balto-Finnic people indigenous to northern and northwestern Latvia. Livonians historically spoke Livonian, a Uralic language ...
with text "
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.
In 1944, the Soviet Union occupied Estonia, and "Mu isamaa, mu õnn ja rõõm" ended up being banned by the Soviet government.
The Soviet Estonia had its own
regional anthem. Yet the people of Estonia 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 (except for an additional repetition of the last verse in the Finnish version), at the conclusion of its broadcast every night.
Lyrics
See also
* "
Maamme"
* "
Min izāmō"
Notes
References
External links
The Estonian national anthem- web page of the State Chancellery, an audio stream. The anthem is played by The Defence Forces Orchestra, vocals by the National Male Choir.
Streaming audio, lyrics and details of the Estonian anthem.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mu isamaa, mu onn ja room
National symbols of Estonia
European anthems
Estonian patriotic songs
National anthems
National anthem compositions in B-flat major
National anthem compositions in C major