"" (; "There is a lovely country") is one of the two

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 Europea ...

s of

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

History

The lyrics were written in 1819 by

Adam Oehlenschläger Adam Gottlob Oehlenschläger (14 November 177920 January 1850) was a Danish poet and playwright. He introduced romanticism into Danish literature. He wrote the lyrics to the song ''Der er et yndigt land'', which is one of the national anthems ...

and bore the motto in la, Ille terrarum mihi praeter omnes angulus ridet ( Horace: "This corner of the earth smiles for me more than any other"). The music was composed in 1835 by Hans Ernst Krøyer. Later,

Thomas Laub Thomas Linnemann Laub (5 December 1852 – 4 February 1927) was a Danish organist and composer. Notable works *1888 ''80 rytmiske Koraler'', en enstemmig samling *1889–1891 ''Kirkemelodier'', tre hæfter med firstemmige udsættelser *1890 ...

and Carl Nielsen each composed alternative melodies, but neither of them has gained widespread adoption, and today they are mostly unknown to the general population. When first published, the national anthem had twelve verses, but this was shortened to the first, third, fifth, and last verse in later editions. Denmark is one of only two countries in the world — the other being

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

– with two official national anthems. Officially, " Kong Christian stod ved højen mast" is both a national and a royal anthem; it has equal status with "Der er et yndigt land", which is treated as the civil national anthem. On royal and military occasions, "Kong Christian" is performed alone, or the two national anthems are played together.

Music

Lyrics

In certain situations, for example at sporting events, only the first verse (or stanza) and the last three lines of the fourth verse are sung.

Notes

References

External links

Aarhus Universitet
- original lyrics by Oehlenschläger {{Authority control European anthems Works by Adam Oehlenschläger Danish anthems 1835 in Denmark 1835 songs National anthems National anthem compositions in D major