Slovakia
Nad Tatrou sa blýska
Nad Tatrou sa blyska
Lightning Over the Tatras
1844
1993
Janko Matuska
Traditional (based on folk song Kopala studienku)
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Key Facts
- 1. Slovakia's anthem is one of the few in the world that opens with a weather phenomenon: lightning and thunder, giving it a uniquely dramatic and cinematic first line.
- 2. The anthem shares structural similarities with the Polish anthem 'Mazurek Dabrowskiego'; both were written during the same era of Slavic national awakening and share themes of a sleeping nation rising.
- 3. When Czechoslovakia split in 1993, the Czech Republic kept the first half of the joint anthem and Slovakia kept the second, making it one of the cleanest 'anthem divorces' in history.
Lyrics
Nad Tatrou sa blýska, hromy divo bijú.
Zastavme sa, bratia, veď sa ony stratia,
Slováci ožijú.
To Slovensko naše posiaľ tvrdo spalo,
Ale blesky hromu vzbudzujú ho k tomu,
Aby sa prebralo.
Translations are non-official and intended to convey meaning, not replace originals
Analysis
EditorialWritten by Janko Matuska in 1844 during a student hike in the Tatra Mountains. The melody is based on the Slovak folk song 'Kopala studienku'. It formed the second half of the Czechoslovak anthem alongside the Czech anthem, and became Slovakia's sole anthem after the 1993 dissolution.