"" ( sr-Cyrl, Боже правде, , "God of Justice") 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 Europea ...

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hu ...

, as defined by the Article 7 of the

Constitution of Serbia The current Constitution of the Republic of Serbia ( sr, / ), also known as Mitrovdan Constitution ( sr, / ) was adopted in 2006, replacing the previous constitution dating from 1990. The adoption of new constitution became necessary in 2006 ...

. "Bože pravde" was the state anthem of the

Kingdom of Serbia The Kingdom of Serbia ( sr-cyr, Краљевина Србија, Kraljevina Srbija) was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Prin ...

until 1919 when Serbia became a part of the

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

. It was re-adopted as the national anthem at first by the parliamentary recommendation on the use in 2004 and then constitutionally sanctioned in 2006, after Serbia became independent again.

History

After the assassination of Prince Mihailo, Milan Obrenović came to the throne in 1872, celebrating his coming of age. Then he ordered a play from the manager of the National Theater in Belgrade, Jovan Đorđević, who quickly wrote and presented the play ''Marko kazuje na kome je carstvo'' ( Marko names the Emperor), with the aim of glorifying Serbian history and the

Obrenović dynasty The House of Obrenović ( sr-Cyrl, Обрeновић, Obrenovići / Обреновићи, ) was a Serbian dynasty that ruled Serbia from 1815 to 1842, and again from 1858 to 1903. They came to power through the leadership of their progenitor ...

, and ''Bože pravde'', composed by

Davorin Jenko Davorin Jenko (born Martin Jenko; 9 November 1835 – 25 November 1914) was a Slovene composer. He is sometimes considered the father of Slovenian national Romantic music. Among other songs, he composed the melody for the Serbian national anthem " ...

. Đorđević's song quickly gained more popularity among the people than the piece itself, and in 1882, on the occasion of Milan's enthronement as Serbian king, Đorđević reworked the text and so his new version became the first official anthem of Serbia. In 1903, after the May Coup, the Obrenović dynasty died out and the Karađorđevićs came to the helm of Serbia. The new Serbian king

Peter I Peter I may refer to: Religious hierarchs * Saint Peter (c. 1 AD – c. 64–88 AD), a.k.a. Simon Peter, Simeon, or Simon, apostle of Jesus * Pope Peter I of Alexandria (died 311), revered as a saint * Peter I of Armenia (died 1058), Catholicos ...

wanted to change the state symbols, even the anthem. The Austrian composer from Vienna, August Stol, composed a song for the Serbian king. Peter did not like the composition. Various competitions in which many Serbian poets (

Aleksa Šantić Aleksa Šantić ( sr-Cyrl, Алекса Шантић, (); 27 May 1868 – 2 February 1924) was a poet from Bosnia and Herzegovina. His poetry reflecting both the urban culture of the region. The most common themes of his poems are social inju ...

among others) participated were also unsuccessful. In the end, in 1909, it was decided to make the anthem ''Bože pravde'' official again, with minor changes to the text. While being the national anthem of the

, it occasionally was referred to as the Serbian national

Prayer Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deifie ...

. Various rulers of Serbia changed the words of the anthem to suit them. During the rule of Prince

Milan I of Serbia Milan Obrenović ( sr-cyr, Милан Обреновић, Milan Obrenović; 22 August 1854 – 11 February 1901) reigned as the prince of Serbia from 1868 to 1882 and subsequently as king from 1882 to 1889. Milan I unexpectedly abdicated in ...

, the words were "God, save Prince Milan" (''knez Milana Bože spasi''), which changed to ''King Milan'' when Serbia became a kingdom. Later it was tailored to

and

Alexander I Alexander I may refer to: * Alexander I of Macedon, king of Macedon 495–454 BC * Alexander I of Epirus (370–331 BC), king of Epirus * Pope Alexander I (died 115), early bishop of Rome * Pope Alexander I of Alexandria (died 320s), patriarch of A ...

as well. During the time of the

(which later became the

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 191 ...

), "Bože pravde" was part of its national anthem. On the eve of the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, at the great international gathering of the Music Confederation, held in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

, this anthem was declared one of the three most beautiful in the world. "Bože pravde" anthem was officially abandoned after liberation of the country at the end of World War II in 1945, in favour of "

Hey, Slavs "Hey, Slavs" is a patriotic song dedicated to the Slavs which was used as the national anthem of various countries during the 20th century. Its lyrics were first written in 1834 under the title "Hey, Slovaks" ("Hej, Slováci") by Samo Tomáši ...

", under its Serbo-Croatian title ''Hej, Sloveni'', which was the

Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yu ...

for 47 years, from 1945 to 1992. After the break-up of Yugoslavia in 1991-1992, only

and

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = ...

remained in the federation i.e. the newly-formed

Serbia and Montenegro Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in Southeast Europe located in the Balkans that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of ...

, but since no agreement over the anthem could be reached, "Hey, Slavs" remained the national anthem. Many Serbs disliked the song during this period and booed it whenever it was played, such as at sporting events. In 1992, " Vostani Serbije" and " Marš na Drinu" were proposed as the

regional anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to short ...

along with "Bоže pravde". The latter, promulgated by then-ruling

Socialist Party of Serbia The Socialist Party of Serbia ( sr, Социјалистичка партија Србије, Socijalistička partija Srbije, SPS) is a political party in Serbia. It is led by Ivica Dačić. It was founded in 1990 as the direct successor to ...

, even received a plurality of popular vote on

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a Representative democr ...

, but was never officially adopted. The recommendation on the use of "Bože pravde" was adopted unanimously by the

Parliament of Serbia The National Assembly ( sr-cyr, Народна скупштина, Narodna skupština, ) is the unicameral legislature of Serbia. The assembly is composed of 250 deputies who are proportionally elected to four-year terms by secret ballot. The as ...

in 2004 and constitutionally sanctioned in 2006, after Serbia restored independence, while the recommended text was promulgated into the law in 2009. It utilizes slightly modified original lyrics, asserting that Serbia is no longer a

monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic ( constitutional monar ...

— four verses are different. In three, "Serbian king" (''srpskog kralja'') is changed to "Serbian lands" (''srpske zemlje'') and in one, "God save the Serbian king" (''srpskog kralja Bože spasi'', literally "The Serbian king, O God, save") is changed to "O God, save; O God, defend" (''Bože spasi, Bože brani''). "Bože pravde" was also used as the

of the

Republika Srpska Republika Srpska ( sr-Cyrl, Република Српска, lit=Serb Republic, also known as Republic of Srpska, ) is one of the two entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located ...

, a

constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and ...

until 2006, when it was ruled down by the country's constitutional court for being unconstitutional and the decision was upheld by the Constitutional Court of Republika Srpska.

Lyrics

The full Serbian national anthem as officially defined consists of eight

stanza In poetry, a stanza (; from Italian ''stanza'' , "room") is a group of lines within a poem, usually set off from others by a blank line or indentation. Stanzas can have regular rhyme and metrical schemes, but they are not required to have ei ...

s, but usually only the first two are performed on public occasions for reasons of brevity. The third verse is also usually omitted in full performances.

Notes

References

External links

Serbian anthem streaming audio, lyrics and infoarchive link

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boze Pravde European anthems Royal anthems National anthems National symbols of Serbia Anthems of Serbia Principality of Serbia Kingdom of Serbia Serbian culture Culture of Republika Srpska Serbian patriotic songs Articles containing video clips National anthem compositions in B-flat major 1872 compositions 1872 poems 1872 songs

History

Lyrics

See also

Notes

References

External links