Hungary

Words by: Ferenc Kölcsey
Music by: Ferenc Erkel
Adopted: 1844

The title of the Hungarian anthem is often given as the first line of the anthem,"Isten, áldd meg a magyart", but rather the title is simply 'Himnusz' which means 'Anthem' in English. But the poem has a subtitle: 'A magyar nép zivataros századaiból' meaning approximately 'From the Stormy Past of the Hungarian People'. Kölcsey, who wrote his poem in 1823, sets the poem in the 17th century when Hungary was torn into three parts: the independent Hungarian principality in Transsylvania, the Turkish occupied central Hungary and the remaining Austrian royal (Habsburg) areas in the north and the west. The anthem was adopted in 1844, even while Hungary was still a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Also widely used in Hungary, but not an official national anthem, is the song "Szozat", which can be described as the "national song" and is often sung in national celebrations.

Special thanks to: Luke Gilmore for some of this information.

See also: Hungary (?-1823).