Finland National Anthem

Maamme

Our Land

Written 1848

Adopted 1917

Lyrics Johan Ludvig Runeberg

Music Fredrik Pacius

🌿 Nature ❤ Love of homeland 🏺 Ancestors / Heritage 🌅 Hope | Solemn

Key Facts

1. Originally written in Swedish, not Finnish. The Finnish words sung today, 'Maamme', are often credited to Paavo Cajander, who revised the translation in 1889, but the two stanzas in use come from an 1867 translation by a group of five poets that included Julius Krohn
2. Pacius's melody is also the tune of Estonia's national anthem, 'Mu isamaa, mu õnn ja rõõm', used from 1918 to 1940 and again since 1990, and of the Livonian anthem
3. Several composers set Runeberg's poem to music before Pacius, Runeberg himself among them, but Pacius's version was the first to become widely popular
4. No law makes it the national anthem, unlike Finland's flag and coat of arms: its status rests on long-established custom

Finland National Anthem Lyrics

Oi maamme, Suomi, synnyinmaa, soi, sana kultainen! Ei laaksoa, ei kukkulaa, ei vettä rantaa rakkaampaa, kuin kotimaa tää pohjoinen, maa kallis isien! Sun kukoistukses kuorestaan kerrankin puhkeaa, viel lempemme saa nousemaan sun toivos, riemus loistossaan, ja kerran, laulus synnyinmaa korkeemman kaiun saa.

Translations are non-official and intended to convey meaning, not replace originals

Analysis

Editorial

Johan Ludvig Runeberg wrote the poem in Swedish in 1846, as 'Vårt land' (Our Land), the opening poem of his collection 'The Tales of Ensign Stål'. Fredrik Pacius, a German-born composer who taught music at the University of Helsinki, set it to music, and students first sang it at their Flora Day celebration in Helsinki on 13 May 1848.