Melody of the German national anthem premiered Badge

Melody of the German national anthem premiered

Melody of the German national anthem premiered
Feb 12 1797
Historical picture postcard with Joseph Haydn (Illustrator: Adolf Karpellus, CC BY-NC 4.0)

The imperial song is sung for the first time in Viennese theatres

Seeking to mark the birthday of Holy Roman Emperor Franz II, Joseph Haydn composed the imperial anthem Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser (God save Franz the Kaiser). It was first sung in all of Vienna’s theatres on 12 February 1797. The honoured emperor himself attended the event at the Burgtheater and thanked the composer with a gift.

In 1841, August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben wrote Das Lied der Deutschen (The song of the Germans) whilst living on the island of Heligoland, which at the time belonged to Great Britain. Set to Haydn’s melody, the song soon caught on and was regularly sung in public. Despite its popularity, Das Lied der Deutschen remained just one of many songs sung by the German national movement and was not established as the official German national anthem until 1922. After reunification in 1990, the German government decided to sing only the third verse proclaiming “Unity and justice and freedom for the German fatherland!”

Find out more about the adventure museum

About the Deutschlandmuseum

An immersive and innovative experience museum about 2000 years of German history

Learn more

The whole year at a glance

The People’s Uprising in the DDR
Jun 17
Artikel erst ab morgen verfügbar
End of the “rump parliament”
Jun 18 1849
Item only available from the 18., check back!
Max Schmeling’s greatest fight
Jun 19 1936
Item only available from the 19., check back!
The Battle of the Catalaunian Plains
Jun 20 451
Item only available from the 20., check back!
The D-Mark is here!
Jun 21 1948
Item only available from the 21., check back!
“Operation Barbarossa”
Jun 22 1941
Item only available from the 22., check back!
“von” is now just a name
Jun 23 1920
Item only available from the 23., check back!
The wrapping of the Reichstag
Jun 24 1995
Item only available from the 24., check back!
5% to enter the German Parliament
Jun 25 1953
Item only available from the 25., check back!
“Ich bin ein Berliner”
Jun 26 1963
Item only available from the 26., check back!
Hanover wins a battle but loses its independence
Jun 27 1866
Item only available from the 27., check back!
The Treaty of Versailles
Jun 28 1919
Item only available from the 28., check back!
Reform of paragraph 218
Jun 29 1995
Item only available from the 29., check back!
The “Night of the Long Knives”
Jun 30 1934
Item only available from the 30., check back!
Jul 1
No entry available
Jul 2
No entry available
Jul 3
No entry available
Jul 4
No entry available
Jul 6
No entry available
Jul 7
No entry available
Jul 8
No entry available
Jul 9
No entry available
Jul 10
No entry available
Jul 11
No entry available
Jul 12
No entry available
Jul 13
No entry available
Jul 14
No entry available
Jul 15
No entry available
Jul 16
No entry available
Jul 17
No entry available
Jul 18
No entry available
Jul 19
No entry available
Jul 20
No entry available
Jul 21
No entry available
Jul 22
No entry available
Jul 23
No entry available
Jul 24
No entry available
Jul 25
No entry available
Jul 26
No entry available
Jul 27
No entry available
Jul 28
No entry available
Jul 29
No entry available
Jul 30
No entry available
Jul 31
No entry available
Aug 1
No entry available
Aug 2
No entry available
Aug 3
No entry available
Aug 4
No entry available
Aug 5
No entry available
Aug 6
No entry available
Aug 7
No entry available
Aug 8
No entry available
Aug 9
No entry available
Aug 10
No entry available
Aug 11
No entry available
Aug 12
No entry available
Aug 13
No entry available
Aug 14
No entry available
Aug 15
No entry available
Aug 16
No entry available
Aug 17
No entry available
Aug 18
No entry available
Aug 19
No entry available
Aug 20
No entry available
Aug 21
No entry available
Aug 22
No entry available
Aug 23
No entry available
Aug 24
No entry available
Aug 25
No entry available
Aug 26
No entry available
Aug 27
No entry available
Aug 28
No entry available
Aug 29
No entry available
Aug 30
No entry available
Aug 31
No entry available
Sep 1
No entry available
Sep 2
No entry available
Sep 3
No entry available
Sep 4
No entry available
Sep 6
No entry available
Sep 7
No entry available
Sep 8
No entry available
Sep 9
No entry available
Sep 10
No entry available
Sep 11
No entry available
Sep 12
No entry available
Sep 13
No entry available
Sep 14
No entry available
Sep 15
No entry available
Sep 16
No entry available
Sep 17
No entry available
Sep 18
No entry available
Sep 19
No entry available
Sep 20
No entry available
Sep 21
No entry available
Sep 22
No entry available
Sep 23
No entry available
Sep 24
No entry available
Sep 25
No entry available
Sep 26
No entry available
Sep 27
No entry available
Sep 28
No entry available
Sep 29
No entry available
Sep 30
No entry available
Oct 1
No entry available
Oct 2
No entry available
Oct 3
No entry available
Oct 4
No entry available
Oct 5
No entry available
Oct 6
No entry available
Oct 7
No entry available
Oct 8
No entry available
Oct 9
No entry available
Oct 12
No entry available
Oct 14
No entry available
Oct 15
No entry available
Oct 16
No entry available
Oct 17
No entry available
Oct 18
No entry available
Oct 19
No entry available
Oct 20
No entry available
Oct 21
No entry available
Oct 22
No entry available
Oct 23
No entry available
Oct 24
No entry available
Oct 25
No entry available
Oct 26
No entry available
Oct 27
No entry available
Oct 28
No entry available
Oct 29
No entry available
Nov 1
No entry available
Nov 2
No entry available
Nov 4
No entry available
Nov 6
No entry available
Nov 7
No entry available
Nov 8
No entry available
Nov 9
No entry available
Nov 10
No entry available
Nov 11
No entry available
Nov 12
No entry available
Nov 13
No entry available
Nov 14
No entry available
Nov 15
No entry available
Nov 16
No entry available
Nov 17
No entry available
Nov 18
No entry available
Nov 19
No entry available
Nov 20
No entry available
Nov 21
No entry available
Nov 22
No entry available
Nov 23
No entry available
Nov 24
No entry available
Nov 25
No entry available
Nov 26
No entry available
Nov 27
No entry available
Nov 28
No entry available
Nov 29
No entry available
Nov 30
No entry available
Dec 1
No entry available
Dec 2
No entry available
Dec 3
No entry available
Dec 4
No entry available
Dec 5
No entry available
Dec 6
No entry available
Dec 7
No entry available
Dec 8
No entry available
Dec 9
No entry available
Dec 10
No entry available
Dec 11
No entry available
Dec 12
No entry available
Dec 13
No entry available
Dec 14
No entry available
Dec 15
No entry available
Dec 16
No entry available
Dec 17
No entry available
Dec 18
No entry available
Dec 19
No entry available
Dec 21
No entry available
Dec 22
No entry available
Dec 23
No entry available
Dec 24
No entry available
Dec 25
No entry available
Dec 26
No entry available
Dec 27
No entry available
Dec 28
No entry available
Dec 29
No entry available
Dec 30
No entry available
Dec 31
No entry available

Discover history

Visit the unique Deutschlandmuseum and experience immersive history

2000 Jahre
12 Epochen
1 Stunde