"" (; "Our Beautiful Homeland") 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 ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capi ...

. Often simply referred to as "" ("Our Beautiful") in Croatia, it is a phrase widely used as a

metonym Metonymy () is a figure of speech in which a concept is referred to by the name of something closely associated with that thing or concept. Etymology The words ''metonymy'' and ''metonym'' come from grc, μετωνυμία, 'a change of name' ...

for the country.

History

The original lyrics were written by Antun Mihanović and first published under the title ''Horvatska domovina'' (''Croatian homeland'') in 1835. In 1846,

Josip Runjanin Josip Runjanin (; 8 December 1821 – 2 February 1878) was a soldier and composer from the Austrian Empire best known for composing the melody of '' Lijepa naša domovino'', which later became the Croatian national anthem. Life Runjanin was born J ...

(1821–1878) composed the music for ''Horvatska domovina''. Runjanin's army bandmaster Josip Wendl adapted his music for a military brass orchestra. The original form of the melody is unknown because the original has not been recovered to this day. The song was scored and harmonized for a male choir by a teacher and organist of the Zagreb Cathedral

Vatroslav Lichtenegger Vatroslav Lichtenegger (1809-1885) was a Croatian music teachr and composer. Born in Podčetrtek, he moved to Zagreb around 1827, and became a choralist in the Zagreb Cathedral as well as a teacher at the Croatian Music Institute. Lichtenegge ...

in 1861, and after that it started to be performed as the

Croatian people The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, Ge ...

's ethnic anthem. The title "Lijepa naša" has been applied since that time. The original text has 14 verses. Since then, a few minor adjustments have been made to the lyrics. The song was not immediately adopted by the

Croatian Parliament The Croatian Parliament ( hr, Hrvatski sabor) or the Sabor is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Croatia. Under the terms of the Croatian Constitution, the Sabor represents the people and is vested with legislative power. The Sa ...

as the national anthem. In 1907, the Association of Croatian Singing Clubs requested the parliament to do so but received no response, even though the song was used as the state anthem in unofficial capacity at ceremonies, including the 29 October 1918 session of parliament when

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capi ...

formally dissolved its ties with

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

. Between 1918 and 1941, segments of the Croatian national anthem were part of the national anthem of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and it was unofficial hymn of Croats. During 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 ...

, in the

Independent State of Croatia The Independent State of Croatia ( sh, Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH; german: Unabhängiger Staat Kroatien; it, Stato indipendente di Croazia) was a World War II-era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist It ...

it was also used as state anthem, albeit with some modifications to the lyrics.

Croatian Partisans The Croatian Partisans, officially the National Liberation Movement in Croatia ( hr, Narodnooslobodilački pokret u Hrvatskoj; NOP), were part of the anti-fascist National Liberational Movement in the Axis-occupied Yugoslavia which was the most ...

were also using it, for example during

ZAVNOH The State Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Croatia (''Zemaljsko antifašističko vijeće narodnog oslobođenja Hrvatske''), commonly abbreviated ZAVNOH, was first convened on 13–14 June 1943 in Otočac and Plitvice as the ...

sessions. The song officially became the state anthem of Croatia through amendments of the

Constitution of Croatia The Constitution of the Republic of Croatia ( hr, Ustav Republike Hrvatske) is promulgated by the Croatian Parliament. History While it was part of the socialist Yugoslavia, the Socialist Republic of Croatia had its own Constitution under ...

adopted by the parliament of the

SR Croatia The Socialist Republic of Croatia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Hrvatska, Социјалистичка Република Хрватска), or SR Croatia, was a constituent republic and federated state of the Sociali ...

on 29 February 1972. It was confirmed by constitutions of 1974 and 1990, when its lyrics were slightly modified, and by the

Coat of Arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

, the

Flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...

and the National Anthem of the Republic of Croatia Act.

Lyrics

Official lyrics

On most occasions, only the first verse is performed.

Lyrics to ''Horvatska domovina''

The poem first published in the cultural magazine '' Danica ilirska'', No. 10, edited by Ljudevit Gaj, in 1835http://www.nsk.hr/horvatska-domovina/ (pristupljeno 14. ožujka 2013.)http://fluminensia.org/mihanovic-u-rijeci-napisao-lijepu-nasu (pristupljeno 14. ožujka 2013.) originally consisted of fourteen verses but today, only verses one, two, thirteen, and fourteen are part of the national anthem.

Notes

References

External links

Croatia: ''Lijepa naša domovino'' – Audio of the national anthem of Croatia, with information and lyricsarchive link
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lijepa nasa domovino 1846 songs Croatian songs European anthems National symbols of Croatia National anthems National anthem compositions in C major