A Century in Biographies

Right after the Nazi regime ended, the Second Republic made a conscious effort to create an “Austrian identity”—at that point in time, most Austrians considered themselves German. To highlight aspects that distinguished Austria from Germany seemed all the more important. Positively emphasizing Austria’s connection to the Habsburg Empire was instrumental to this endeavour to “build an identity”—and so was a new national anthem.

The First Republic’s anthem wouldn’t do, because it had the same melody as the German anthem that was sung under the Nazi regime.

In 1946, Minister of Education Felix Hurdes put out a call for a new anthem. Here in the exhibition, you can leaf through some of the lyrics that were proposed. None of them were selected.

Then, specific authors were invited to compose lyrics. Finally, poet Paula Preradović was chosen to write the anthem. On the wall you can find a draft of the text with handwritten corrections.

Paula Preradović was a strong believer in the “old” Austria, as it had been during the Habsburg Monarchy. She had also been against the Nazis. So it seems to be no coincidence that she was asked to submit lyrics for the new national anthem.

A nostalgic attachment to the Habsburg Monarchy is noticeable in Preradović’s writing. She also considered the place she grew up—Pula, that is in Croatia today, as belonging to her homeland. Pula had been the main port of the Habsburg Royal Naval Fleet that her father served under. In a poem she describes Austria as a “home far from the sea” and mourns the loss of its access to the sea.

The title and the first line of the national anthem “Land of the Mountains, Land on the River,” is but one example of her many descriptions of landscape. She often used it in her poetry to express her love for her home country, which—alongside her Catholic faith—is a recurring theme in her work.

On the monitor you see an international football match between Austria and Cameroon in 2002, where Tini Kainrath sang the Austrian national anthem—and slightly changed the lyrics. She sang “daughters and sons” instead of the original words that only mention “great sons”.

At the event itself, it went unnoticed. It was only afterwards that a heated debate unfolded in the media. After many discussions, the inclusive version “Home to great daughters and sons” was adopted in 2011. And since then, all women who are citizens of Austria are included and addressed in the national anthem.