Heil dir im Siegerkranz

{{Infobox anthem

| title = Heil dir im Siegerkranz

| english_title = 'Hail to Thee in Victor's Crown'

| image = Heil dir im Siegerkranz (ca 1900).jpg

| caption = Postcard {{circa|1900}}

| alt =

| prefix = Former national

| country = {{nowrap|the German Empire}}

----

Former royal anthem of Prussia

| author = Heinrich Harries

| lyrics_date = 1790

| composer = "God Save the King"

| music_date =

| adopted = 1795 (by Prussia)
1871 (by Germany)

| until = 1918

| successor = "Das Lied der Deutschen"

| sound = Heil Dir Im Siegerkranz (old recording).ogg

| sound_title = Old vocal recording in A major}}

"{{Lang|de|Heil dir im Siegerkranz|italic=no}}" ({{IPA|de|ˈhaɪl diːɐ ɪm ˈziːɡɐˌkʁant͡s|lang}}; {{lit|Hail to Thee in Victor's Crown}}) was the imperial anthem of the German Empire from 1871 to 1918, and previously the royal anthem of Prussia from 1795 to 1918.{{sfn|Fischer|Senkel|2010|p=90}}

Before the foundation of the Empire in 1871, it had been the royal anthem of Prussia since 1795 and remained as the royal anthem after 1871.{{sfn|Fischer|Senkel|2010|p=91}} The melody of the hymn derived from the British anthem "God Save the King". For these reasons, the song failed to become popular within all of Germany. Not only did it fail to win the support of most German nationalists, but it also was never recognized by the southern German states, such as Bavaria or Württemberg.Fehrenbach, Elisabeth. Politischer Umbruch und gesellschaftliche Bewegung: ausgewählte Aufsätze zur Geschichte Frankreichs und Deutschlands im 19. Jahrhundert. Oldenburg, 1997. p. 312. At the near end of World War I, the German Empire was overthrown and "Das Lied der Deutschen" was adopted as the national anthem of its successor, the Weimar Republic.{{ill|Wilhelm von Sternburg|de|lt=Sternburg, Wilhelm von}}. Die Geschichte der Deutschen. p. 131.

It is often considered the official national anthem of the German Empire.{{Cite web |title=Germany (1871-1918) – nationalanthems.info |url=https://nationalanthems.info/de-18.htm |access-date=2023-06-02 |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=National anthem |url=https://www.protokoll-inland.de/Webs/PI/EN/state-symbols/national-anthem/national-anthem.html;jsessionid=DC3D1BEAAF8618B67C717DAE559F605A.1_cid364?nn=10768644 |access-date=2023-06-02 |website=Domestic Protocol Office of the Federal Government |language=en}} However the German Empire never had an official anthem like the Weimar Republic or the Federal Republic of Germany (Lied der Deutschen). Together with "Die Wacht am Rhein" both songs had the status of unofficial national anthems.

Lyrics

Heinrich Harries wrote the lyrics in 1790 in honour of King Christian VII of Denmark, and the line "Heil, Kaiser, dir" originally read "Heil, Christian, dir". In 1793, Harries' text was adapted by {{ill|Balthasar Gerhard Schumacher|qid=Q95218948}} (1755–1805) for use in Prussia. Schumacher shortened Harries' text and replaced the word Christian with König (king). After the proclamation of the German Empire, the word König was replaced by Kaiser (emperor).{{sfn|Fischer|Senkel|2010|p=93}}

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!German original

!IPA transcription

!English translation

style="white-space:nowrap;vertical-align:top;"

|{{lang|de|italic=no|Heil dir im Siegerkranz,

Herrscher des Vaterlands!

Heil, Kaiser, dir!

𝄆 Fühl in des Thrones Glanz

Die hohe Wonne ganz,

Liebling des Volks zu sein!

Heil Kaiser, dir! 𝄇

Nicht Roß, nicht Reisige{{Efn|Alternatively sung as {{lang|de|Und Roß, und Reisige}}.|name=Slicher, Friedrich (1896–1898). Allgemeines Deutsches Kommersbuch: "Kaiserlied" (in German). Lahr: Moritz Schauenburg. p. 47.|group=}}

Sichern die steile Höh’,

Wo Fürsten stehn:

𝄆 Liebe des Vaterlands,

Liebe des freien Manns

Gründen den Herrschers Thron

Wie Fels im Meer. 𝄇

Heilige Flamme, glüh',

Glüh' und erlösche nie

Für's Vaterland!

𝄆 Wir alle stehen dann

Mutig für einen Mann,

Kämpfen und bluten gern

Für Thron und Reich! 𝄇

Handlung und Wissenschaft

Hebe mit Mut und Kraft

Ihr Haupt empor!

𝄆 Krieger und Heldenthat

Finde ihr Lorbeerblatt

Treu aufgehoben dort,

An deinem Thron! 𝄇

Sei, Kaiser Wilhelm, hier

Lang deines Volkes Zier,

Der Menschheit Stolz!

𝄆 Fühl in des Thrones Glanz,

Die hohe Wonne ganz,

Liebling des Volks zu sein!

Heil, Kaiser, dir! 𝄇Song No. 50 in Allgemeines Deutsches Kommersbuch, p. 47}}

|{{IPA|wrap=none|[haɪl diːɐ ˀɪm ˈziː.ɡɐ.ˌkʁant͡s {{!}}]

[ˈhɛɐ.ʃɐ deːs ˈfa.tɐ.ˌlant͡s {{!}}]

[haɪl ˈkaɪ.zɐ diːɐ ‖]

𝄆 [fyːl ˀɪn deːs ˈtʁoː.nəs glant͡s {{!}}]

[diː ˈhoː.ə ˈvɔ.nə gant͡s {{!}}]

[ˈliː.blɪŋ deːs ˈfɔlks t͡suː zaɪn {{!}}]

[haɪl ˈkaɪ.zɐ diːɐ ‖] 𝄇

[nɪçt ˈʁoːs nɪçt ˈʁaɪ.zɪ.gə {{!}}]

[ˈzɪ.çɐn diː ˈʃtaɪ.lə høː {{!}}]

[voː ˈfʏɐ.st(ə)n ˈʃteː(ə)n ‖]

𝄆 [ˈliː.bə deːs ˈfa.tɐ.ˌlant͡s {{!}}]

[ˈliː.bə deːs ˈfʁaɪ.ən mans {{!}}]

[ˈɡʁʏn.d(ə)n deːn ˈhɛɐ.ʃɐs tʁoːn {{!}}]

[viː ˈfɛls ˀɪm ˈmeːɐ ‖] 𝄇

[ˈhaɪ.lɪ.gə ˈfla.mə glyː {{!}}]

[glyː ˀʊnt ˀɛɐ.ˈlœ.ʃə niː {{!}}]

[fyːɐs ˈfa.tɐ.ˌlant ‖]

𝄆 [viːɐ ˈˀa.lə ˈʃteː(ə)n dan {{!}}]

[ˈmuː.tɪç fyːɐ ˈˀaɪ.nən man {{!}}]

[ˈkɛm.p͡f(ə)n ˀʊnt ˈbluː.t(ə)n ɡɛɐn {{!}}]

[fyːɐ ˈtʁoːn ˀʊnt ˈʁaɪç ‖] 𝄇

[ˈhand.lʊŋ ˀʊnt ˈvɪ.s(ə)n.ˌʃaft {{!}}]

[ˈheː.bə mɪt ˈmuːt ˀʊnt ˈkʁaft {{!}}]

[ˀiːɐ ˈhaʊpt ˀɛm.ˈpɔɐ ‖]

[ˈkʁiː.gɐ ˀʊnt ˈhɛl.d(ə)n.ˌtaːt {{!}}]

[ˈfɪn.də ˀiːɐ ˈloːɐ.beːɐ.ˌblat {{!}}]

[tʁɔʏ ˈˀaʊf.gə.ˌhoː.b(ə)n dɔɐt {{!}}]

[ˀan ˈdaɪ.nəm tʁoːn ‖] 𝄇

[zaɪ ˈkaɪ.zɐ ˈvɪl.ˌhɛlm hiːɐ {{!}}]

[laŋ ˈdaɪ.nəs ˈfɔl.kəs t͡siːɐ {{!}}]

[deːɐ ˈmɛnʃ.ˌhaɪt ʃtɔlt͡s ‖]

𝄆 [ˈfyːl ˀɪn deːs ˈtʁoː.nəs glant͡s {{!}}]

[diː ˈhoː.ə ˈvɔ.nə gant͡s {{!}}]

[ˈliː.blɪŋ deːs ˈfɔlks t͡suː zaɪn {{!}}]

[haɪl ˈkaɪ.zɐ diːɐ ‖] 𝄇}}

|Hail to thee in victor's wreath,

Ruler of the Fatherland!

Hail, kaiser, thee!

𝄆 Feel in the throne’s splendour

Feel in the sublime bliss

To be the folk's beloved!

Hail, kaiser, thee! 𝄇

Neither steed nor mounted knight

Secure the towering height,

Where princes stand:

𝄆 Love of the Fatherland,

Love of the free man,

Secure the ruler's throne

Like rocks at sea. 𝄇

O sacred flame, glow,

Glow and extinguish not,

For the Fatherland!

𝄆 Then we shall all stand

Valiant for one man,

Fighting and bleeding gladly

For Throne and Empire! 𝄇

Commerce and science

Hoist with courage and strength

Their heads aloft!

𝄆 Warriors' and heroes' deeds

Find their laurel leaves

Faithfully preserved

Upon thy throne! 𝄇

Be, Emperor Wilhelm, here,

Long thy people's treasure,

Pride of mankind!

𝄆 Feel in the throne's splendour

Feel in the sublime bliss

To be the people’s beloved!

Hail, kaiser, thee! 𝄇

Kaiser Wilhelm in the lyrics originally referred to William I who reigned until 1888. His son, Frederick III, who reigned for only 99 days, was succeeded by Wilhelm II. One of the jokes at the time was that the song's title is changed to "Heil Dir im Sonderzug" ("Hail to Thee in Thy Royal Train"), owing to Wilhelm II's frequent travels.

After the beginning of World War I in 1914, Hugo Kaun set the text of the anthem to new music to remove the similarity to "God Save the King".{{IMSLP|work=Heil dir im Siegerkranz (Kaun, Hugo)|cname="Heil dir im Siegerkranz" (Kaun)|descr=Score and MIDI-based audio}}

Other hymns

"Die Wacht am Rhein" ("The Watch on the Rhine") was also a patriotic hymn so popular that it was often regarded as an unofficial national anthem.Reichel, Peter. Schwarz-Rot-Gold: Kleine Geschichte deutscher Nationalsymbole nach 1945. C. H. Beck: Munich, 2005. p. 35.

In the Kingdom of Bavaria, the official hymn was "{{visible anchor|Bayerische Königshymne}}" ("Heil unserm König, Heil!"), also sung to the melody of "God Save the King". Likewise, Liechtenstein has "Oben am jungen Rhein" (1920), sung to the same melody.

The Hawaiian anthem "Hawaiʻi Ponoʻī", composed by the Prussian Kapellmeister Henri Berger, is a variation of the melody.{{cite web|title=Hawaiʻi ponoʻī|url=http://www.huapala.org/Hawaii/Hawaii_Ponoi.html|access-date=2018-06-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180117070257/http://www.huapala.org/Hawaii/Hawaii_Ponoi.html|archive-date=2018-01-17|quote=The melody was based on the Prussian hymn originally titled "Heil dir im Siegerkranz.}}

Notes

References

Notes

Sources

{{Cite book|last1=Fischer|first1=Michael|first2=Christian|last2=Senkel|editor=Klaus Tanner|title=Reichsgründung 1871: Ereignis, Beschreibung, Inszenierung|publisher=Waxmann Verlag|location=Münster|year=2010}}