Estonia National Anthem
Mu isamaa, mu õnn ja rõõm
My Fatherland, My Happiness and Joy
1869
1918
Johann Voldemar Jannsen
Fredrik Pacius
❤ Love of homeland 🌿 Nature ✝ God / Faith |
Key Facts
- 1. During the Soviet occupation the anthem was strictly forbidden and people were sent to Siberia for singing it, yet Estonians could still hear the melody every day: Finnish radio played Finland's anthem, set to the same tune, at the start and end of its broadcasts.
- 2. The Song Festival where the anthem was first sung, on 19 June 1869, is still held, usually every five years; the 1990 festival opened with about 30,000 singers on stage and some 100,000 people in the audience. In 2003 UNESCO proclaimed the Baltic song and dance celebrations a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
- 3. The only legal act in which the anthem's text appears, and only in part, is Estonia's Independence Manifesto, published on 24 February 1918.
Estonia National Anthem Lyrics
Mu isamaa, mu õnn ja rõõm,
kui kaunis oled sa!
Ei leia mina iial teal
see suure, laia ilma peal,
mis mul nii armas oleks ka
kui sa, mu isamaa!
Sa oled mind ju sünnitand
ja üles kasvatand;
sind tänan mina alati
ja jään sull' truuiks surmani,
mul kõige armsam oled sa,
mu kallis isamaa!
Su üle Jumal valvaku,
mu armas isamaa!
Ta olgu sinu kaitseja
ja võtku rohkest õnnista,
mis iial ette võtad sa,
mu kallis isamaa!
Translations are non-official and intended to convey meaning, not replace originals
Analysis
EditorialWritten by Johann Voldemar Jannsen for the first Estonian Song Festival in 1869. The melody, composed in 1848 by the German-born Finnish composer Fredrik Pacius, is shared with Finland's national anthem 'Maamme', creating a musical bond between the two nations. The song came into use as Estonia's anthem with independence in 1918, without a separate act of adoption; it was banned during the Soviet occupation and came back into use when independence was restored in 1991.
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Sources & References
- Eesti hümn . Riigikantselei (Government Office of Estonia)
- Symbols of the Republic of Estonia . Office of the President of the Republic of Estonia
Source & Review
- Source status
- Official source verified
- Translation
- AI-assisted working translation
- Rights status
- Third-party rights may apply
- Last reviewed
- Editorial review
- Pending
- Editorial owner
- Nationalia
- Report a correction
- rights@nationalia.org