"Fürsten zum Land Hinaus!" (English: Princes Out of the Land!) is the most prominent German revolutionary song from the

Vormärz ' (; English: ''pre-March'') was a period in the history of Germany preceding the 1848 March Revolution in the states of the German Confederation. The beginning of the period is less well-defined. Some place the starting point directly after ...

period of German history. It became famous for its blatant call for the overthrow of

aristocracy Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocracy (class), aristocrats. Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense Economy, economic, Politics, political, and soc ...

across Germany's kingdoms.

Origins

The exact origins of "Fürsten zum Land Hinaus!" are unknown, though it is thought to have been written in early 1832 by Johann Wilhelm Sauerwein. It was most likely inspired by the

July Revolution The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after French Revolution, the first of 1789–99. It led to the overthrow of King Cha ...

in 1830 France. The earliest known reference to the song's existence was in the magazine '' Eulenspiegel'' in March 1832, describing it as "the satirical song starting with the words: Princes out of the Country!".The song was met with popular response at the 1832 Hambach Festival, where it eventually spread to the rest of

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Usage

The song became popular leading up to the German revolutions of 1848-49, part of the anti-monarchical and pro-republican

revolutions of 1848 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 ...

. Following the failures of the German revolutions, the song was heavily cracked down on and disappeared from general view until the

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

and ''Liedermacher'' revivals of the 1970s.

Lyrics

The song initially featured 16 verses, one for each major region of Germany.

References

{{Reflist German songs 1832 songs