"" (; ) 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 ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. It originated from a poem written during the

Wallachian Revolution of 1848 The Wallachian Revolution of 1848 was a Romanian liberal and nationalist uprising in the Principality of Wallachia. Part of the Revolutions of 1848, and closely connected with the unsuccessful revolt in the Principality of Moldavia, it sough ...

. The lyrics were composed by

Andrei Mureșanu Andrei Mureșanu (; November 16, 1816 in Bistrița – October 12, 1863 in Brașov) was a Romanian poet and revolutionary of Transylvania. Born in a family of a small business owner in the countryside, he studied philosophy and theology ...

and published during the

1848 revolution The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the springtime of the peoples or the springtime of nations, were a series of revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespre ...

, initially with the name "Un răsunet" ('An Echo'), as a lyrical response to

Vasile Alecsandri Vasile Alecsandri (; 21 July 182122 August 1890) was a Romanian patriot, poet, dramatist, politician and diplomat. He was one of the key figures during the 1848 revolutions in Moldavia and Wallachia. He fought for the unification of the Roma ...

's poem "Către Români" ('To Romanians'), later known as "Deșteptarea României" ('The Awakening of Romania'), from which Mureșanu took inspiration for many of the themes and motifs of his own lyrics, a fact that is reflected in the overall similarity between the two poems. The original text was written in the

Romanian Cyrillic alphabet The Romanian Cyrillic alphabet is the Cyrillic alphabet that was used to write the Romanian language and Church Slavonic until the 1830s, when it began to be gradually replaced by a Latin-based Romanian alphabet.Cyrillic remained in occasion ...

. It was first sung in late June in the same year in the city of

Brașov Brașov (, , ; , also ''Brasau''; ; ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the county seat (i.e. administrative centre) of Brașov County. According to the 2021 Romanian census, ...

, on the streets of the

Șcheii Brașovului Șcheii Brașovului (, or more recently ''Obere Vorstadt''; traditional Romanian name: ''Bulgărimea'', colloquially ''Șchei'') is the old ethnically Bulgarian and Romanian neighborhood of Brașov, a city in southeastern Transylvania, Romani ...

neighborhood and it became immediately the revolutionary anthem. Since then, this patriotic song has been sung during all major Romanian conflicts, including during the 1989 anti-communist revolution. After the revolution, it became the national anthem on 24 January 1990, replacing the communist-era national anthem "

Trei culori "Three Colors" was the national anthem of the Socialist Republic of Romania from 1977 to 1990. On 24 January 1990, after the Romanian Revolution, it was officially replaced by the current anthem . Before 1977, the country's national anthem was ...

" ('Three Colours'). 29 July, the National Anthem Day (), is an annual observance in Romania. The anthem was also used on various solemn occasions in the

Moldavian Democratic Republic The Moldavian Democratic Republic (MDR; , ), also known as the Moldavian Republic or Moldavian People's Republic, was a state proclaimed on by the ''Sfatul Țării'' (National Council) of Bessarabia, elected in October–November 1917 foll ...

during its brief existence between 1917 and 1918. Between 1991 and 1994, "" was the national anthem of

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

before it was subsequently replaced by "

Limba noastră "" (), known in English as "Our Language", is the national anthem of Moldova. It has been used since 1994 and was officially adopted on 22 July 1995. For a brief period of time in the early 1990s, the national anthem of Moldova was "Deșteapt ...

" ('Our Language'). As a side note, in modern vernacular, the word, and according family, of the word “deștept” can be interpreted as “smart”. As such, a common joke for fluent speakers, when lyrics begin “ ” Can be loosely translated into “smarten-up, dear Romanian”.

History

The melody was originally a sentimental song called "Din sânul maicii mele" composed by Anton Pann after hearing the poem. In 1848 Andrei Mureșanu wrote the poem "Un răsunet" and asked Gheorghe Ucenescu, a Șcheii Brașovului Church singer, to find him a suitable melody. After Ucenescu sang him several lay melodies, Mureșanu chose Anton Pann's song instead. First sung during the uprisings of 1848, "Deșteaptă-te române!" became a favourite among

Romanians Romanians (, ; dated Endonym and exonym, exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group and nation native to Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Sharing a Culture of Romania, ...

and it has seen play during various historical events, including as part of Romania's declaration of independence from the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

during the

Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) The Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) was a conflict between the Ottoman Empire and a coalition led by the Russian Empire which included United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, Romania, Principality of Serbia, Serbia, and Principality of ...

, and during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The song received particularly heavy radio broadcast in the days following Romanian coup d'état of 23 August 1944, when Romania switched sides, turning against

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

and joining the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After the Communist Party abolished the

monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, reigns as head of state for the rest of their life, or until abdication. The extent of the authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutio ...

on 30 December 1947, "Deșteaptă-te române!" and other patriotic songs closely associated with the previous regime were outlawed.

Nicolae Ceaușescu Nicolae Ceaușescu ( ; ; – 25 December 1989) was a Romanian politician who was the second and last Communism, communist leader of Socialist Romania, Romania, serving as the general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 u ...

's government permitted the song to be played and sung in public, but it was not given state recognition as the national anthem of the

Socialist Republic of Romania The Socialist Republic of Romania (, RSR) was a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist One-party state, one-party socialist state that existed officially in Romania from 1947 to 1989 (see Revolutions of 1989). From 1947 to 1965, the state was ...

. The song was officially adopted as the national anthem on 24 January 1990, shortly after the

Romanian Revolution The Romanian revolution () was a period of violent Civil disorder, civil unrest in Socialist Republic of Romania, Romania during December 1989 as a part of the revolutions of 1989 that occurred in several countries around the world, primarily ...

of December 1989. The overall message of the anthem is a "call to action"; it proposes a "now or never" urge for change present in many national anthems like the French revolutionary song "

La Marseillaise "La Marseillaise" is the national anthem of France. It was written in 1792 by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle in Strasbourg after the declaration of war by the First French Republic against Austria, and was originally titled "". The French Na ...

" – hence why

Nicolae Bălcescu Nicolae Bălcescu () (29 June 181929 November 1852) was a Romanian Wallachian soldier, historian, journalist, and leader of the 1848 Wallachian Revolution. Early life Born in Bucharest to a family of low-ranking nobility, he used his mother ...

called it the "Romanian Marseillaise".

Another anthem

Hora Unirii "Hora Unirii" ('Hora of the Union') is a poem by Vasile Alecsandri, published in 1856. The music of the song was composed by . The song is sung and danced especially on 24 January, the anniversary of the day in which the Romanian United Principali ...

" (' Hora of the Union'), written by poet

, which was sung a great deal on the occasion of the Union of the Principalities (1859) and on other occasions. "Hora Unirii" is sung on the Romanian folk-like tune of a slow but energetic round dance written by Alexandru Flechtenmacher, joined by the whole attendance ( hora).

Lyrics

Romania's national anthem has eleven stanzas. Today, only the first, second, fourth, and last are sung on official occasions, as established by Romanian law. At major events such as the National Holiday on 1 December, the full version is sung, accompanied by 21-gun salute when the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

is present at the event.

Notes

References

External links