# Himnusz

The "Himnusz" (IPA: ) is the national anthem of Hungary. The lyrics were written by Ferenc Kölcsey, a nationally renowned poet, in 1823, and its currently official musical setting was composed by the romantic composer Ferenc Erkel in 1844, although other lesser known musical versions exist. The poem bore the subtitle „A magyar nép zivataros századaiból” ('From Stormy Centuries of the Hungarian Folk'); it is often argued that this subtitle – by emphasising past rather than contemporary national troubles – was added expressly to enable the poem to pass Habsburg censorship. The full meaning of the poem's text is evident only to those well acquainted with Hungarian history. The first stanza is sung at official ceremonies and as well in common. It was de facto used as hymn of the Kingdom of Hungary from its composition in 1844, and was officially adopted as national anthem of the Third Hungarian Republic in 1989.
The lyrics of the "Himnusz" are a prayer beginning with the words God bless the Hungarians („Isten, áldd meg a magyart”, pronounced ).

## Name

The title in the original manuscript is "Hymnus", a Latin word for 'hymn'. The Hungarian word himnusz is itself derived from the Latin word hymnus, which is in turn borrowed from Ancient Greek ῠ̔́μνος hýmnos, meaning 'song, hymn, ode' (generally in praise of gods or heroes); and in many languages of Europe, the word is used as a loanword to mean both 'hymn' and 'anthem'. The word himnusz replaced the original Latin word hymnus over time, and as the poem gained widespread acceptance as the de facto national anthem of Hungary, so too did the word himnusz took on the meaning of '(national) anthem'.

## History

Although Ferenc Kölcsey completed the poem on 22 January 1823, it was only published first in 1829 in Károly Kisfaludy's Aurora, without the subtitle, despite it being part of the manuscript. It subsequently appeared in a collection of Kölcsey's works in 1832, this time with the subtitle. A competition for composers to make the poem suitable to be sung by the public was staged in 1844 and won by Ferenc Erkel's entry. His version was first performed in the National Theatre (where he was conductor) in July 1844, then in front of a larger audience on 10 August 1844, at the inaugural voyage of the steamship Széchenyi. By the end of the 1850s it became customary to sing "Himnusz" at special occasions either alongside Vörösmarty's "Szózat" or on its own.
In the early 1900s, various members of the Hungarian Parliament proposed making the status of Himnusz as the national anthem of Hungary within Austria-Hungary official, but their efforts never got enough traction for such a law to be passed. Later, in the 1950s, communist dictator Mátyás Rákosi made plans to have the anthem replaced by one more suited to the Communist ideology, but the persons he had in mind for the task, poet Gyula Illyés and composer Zoltán Kodály, both refused. It wasn't until 1989 that Erkel's musical adaptation of Himnusz finally gained official recognition as Hungary's national anthem, by being mentioned as such in the Constitution of Hungary.

## Official uses

The public radio station Kossuth Rádió plays Himnusz at ten minutes past midnight each day at the close of transmissions in the AM band, as do the state TV channels at the end of the day's broadcasts. Himnusz is also traditionally played on Hungarian television at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve.

## Alternative anthems

"Szózat", another Hungarian patriotic song, enjoys a social status nearly equal to that of "Himnusz", even though only "Himnusz" is mentioned in the Constitution of Hungary. "Szózat" is often considered to be a de facto second national anthem of Hungary. Traditionally, "Himnusz" is sung at the beginning of ceremonies, and Szózat at the end (although the Himnusz, resembling a Protestant Chorale, is substantially easier to sing than the difficult rhythm of the Szózat, which is often only played from recording).
Recognition is also given to the "Rákóczi March", a short wordless piece (composer unknown, but sometimes attributed to János Bihari and Franz Liszt) which is often used on state military occasions; and the poem Nemzeti dal written by Sándor Petőfi.
Another popular song is the "Székely Himnusz", an unofficial ethnic anthem of the Hungarian-speaking Székelys living in eastern Transylvania—the Székely Land (now part of Romania) and in the rest of the world.

## Lyrics

The first verse is officially sung at ceremonies. The last two lines of every stanza is rarely repeated twice.
The two English versions are free translations of the Hungarian words. As Hungarian is a genderless language, masculine pronouns in the English translations are in fact addressed to all Hungarians regardless of gender.
| Hungarian original (Ferenc Kölcsey, 1823) | IPA transcription | English translation (Laszlo Korossy, 2003) | Metrical English translation (William N. Loew, 1881) |
| Isten, áldd meg a magyart Jó kedvvel, bőséggel, Nyújts feléje védő kart, Ha küzd ellenséggel; Bal sors akit régen tép, Hozz rá víg esztendőt, Megbűnhődte már e nép A múltat s jövendőt! Őseinket felhozád Kárpát szent bércére, Általad nyert szép hazát Bendegúznak vére. S merre zúgnak habjai Tiszának, Dunának, Árpád hős magzatjai Felvirágozának. Értünk Kunság mezein Ért kalászt lengettél, Tokaj szőlővesszein Nektárt csepegtettél. Zászlónk gyakran plántálád Vad török sáncára, S nyögte Mátyás bús hadát Bécsnek büszke vára. Hajh, de bűneink miatt Gyúlt harag kebledben, S elsújtád villámidat Dörgő fellegedben, Most rabló mongol nyilát Zúgattad felettünk, Majd töröktől rabigát Vállainkra vettünk. Hányszor zengett ajkain Ozmán vad népének Vert hadunk csonthalmain Győzedelmi ének! Hányszor támadt tenfiad Szép hazám, kebledre, S lettél magzatod miatt Magzatod hamvvedre! Bújt az üldözött, s felé Kard nyúlt barlangjában, Szerte nézett s nem lelé Honját a hazában, Bércre hág és völgybe száll, Bú s kétség mellette, Vérözön lábainál, S lángtenger fölette. Vár állott, most kőhalom, Kedv s öröm röpkedtek, Halálhörgés, siralom Zajlik már helyettek. S ah, szabadság nem virúl A holtnak véréből, Kínzó rabság könnye hull Árvánk hő szeméből! Szánd meg Isten a magyart Kit vészek hányának, Nyújts feléje védő kart Tengerén kínjának. Bal sors akit régen tép, Hozz rá víg esztendőt, Megbűnhődte már e nép A múltat s jövendőt! | [ˈɪʃ.tɛ̞n äːld mɛ̞g ɒ ˈmɒ.ɟɒrt |] [joː ˈkɛ̞d.vɛ̞l ˈbøː.ʃeːg.gɛ̞l ‖] [ɲuːjt͡ʃ ˈfɛ̞.leː.jɛ̞ ˈveː.døː kɒrt |] [hɒ kʏzd ˈɛ̞l.lɛ̞n.ʃeːg.gɛ̞l ‖] [bɒl ʃorʃ ˈɒ.kɪt ˈreː.gɛ̞n teːp |] [hozː räː viːg ˈɛ̞s.tɛ̞n.døːt ‖] [ˈmɛ̞g.byːn.høːt.tɛ̞ mäːr ɛ̞ neːp |] [ɒ ˈmuːl.tɒt ˈʃ‿jø̞.vɛ̞n.døːt ‖] [ˈøː.ʃɛ̞.ɪŋ.kɛ̞t ˈfɛ̞l.ho.zäːd |] [ˈkäːr.päːt sɛ̞nd‿ˈbeːr.t͡seː.rɛ̞ ‖] [ˈäːl.tɒ.lɒd ɲɛ̞rt seːp ˈhɒ.zäːt |] [ˈbɛ̞n.dɛ̞.guːz.nɒk ˈveː.rɛ̞ ‖] [ˈʃ‿mɛ̞r.rɛ̞ ˈzuːg.nɒk ˈhɒb.jɒ.ɪ |] [ˈtɪ.säː.nɒg‿ˈdʊ.näː.nɒk ‖] [ˈäːr.päːt høːʃ ˈmɒg.zɒc.cɒ.ɪ |] [ˈfɛ̞l.vɪ.räː.go.zäː.nɒk ‖] [ˈeːr.tʏŋk ˈkʊn.ʃäːg ˈmɛ̞.zɛ̞.ɪn |] [eːrt ˈkɒ.läːst ˈlɛ̞ŋ.gɛ̞t.teːl ‖] [ˈto.kɒj ˈsøː.løː.vɛ̞s.sɛ̞.ɪn |] [ˈnɛ̞k.täːrt ˈt͡ʃɛ̞.pɛ̞k.tɛ̞t.teːl ‖] [ˈzäːs.loːɲɟ‿ˈɟɒk.rɒn ˈpläːn.täː.läːd |] [vɒt‿ˈtø̞.rø̞k ˈʃäːn.t͡säː.rɒ ‖] [ˈʃ‿ɲø̞k.tɛ̞ ˈmäː.cäːʒ‿buːʃ ˈhɒ.däːt |] [ˈbeːt͡ʃ.nɛ̞g‿ˈbʏs.kɛ̞ ˈväː.rɒ ‖] [hɒjh dɛ̞ ˈbʏ.nɛ̞.ɪŋk ˈmɪ.ɒtː |] [ɟuːlt ˈhɒ.rɒk‿ˈkɛ̞b.lɛ̞d.bɛ̞n ‖] [ˈʃ‿ɛ̞l.ʃuːj.täːd ˈvɪl.läː.mɪ.dɒt |] [ˈdø̞r.gøː ˈfɛ̞l.lɛ̞.gɛ̞d.bɛ̞n ‖] [moʃt ˈrɒ.bloː ˈmoŋ.gol ˈɲɪ.läːt |] [ˈzuː.gɒt.tɒt‿ˈfɛ̞.lɛ̞t.tʏŋk ‖] [mɒjt‿ˈtø̞.rø̞k.tøːl ˈrɒ.bɪ.gäːt |] [ˈväːl.lɒ.ɪŋ.krɒ ˈvɛ̞t.tʏŋk ‖] [ˈhäːɲ.sor ˈzɛ̞ŋ.gɛ̞tː ˈɒj.kɒ.ɪn |] [ˈoz.mäːn vɒd ˈneː.peː.nɛ̞k ‖] [vɛ̞rt ˈhɒ.dʊŋk ˈt͡ʃont.hɒl.mɒ.ɪn |] [ˈɟøː.zɛ̞.dɛ̞l.mɪ ˈeː.nɛ̞k ‖] [ˈhäːɲ.sor ˈtäː.mɒtː ˈtɛ̞n.fɪ.ɒd |] [seːp ˈhɒ.zäːm ˈkɛ̞b.lɛ̞d.rɛ̞ ‖] [ˈʃ‿lɛ̞t.teːl ˈmɒg.zɒ.tod ˈmɪ.ɒtː |] [ˈmɒg.zɒ.tot‿ˈhɒɱv.vɛ̞d.rɛ̞ ‖] [buːjt ɒz ˈʏl.dø̞.zø̞tː ˈʃ‿fɛ̞.leː |] [kɒrd ɲuːld ˈbɒr.lɒŋg.jäː.bɒn ‖] [ˈsɛ̞r.tɛ̞ ˈneː.zɛ̞tː ʃ‿nɛ̞m ˈlɛ̞.leː |] [ˈhon.jäːt ɒ ˈhɒ.zäː.bɒn ‖] [ˈbeːrt͡s.rɛ̞ häːg eːʃ ˈvø̞ʎɟ.bɛ̞ säːlː |] [buː ˈʃ‿keːt.ʃeːg ˈmɛ̞l.lɛ̞t.tɛ̞ ‖] [ˈveː.rø̞.zø̞n ˈläː.bɒ.ɪ.näːl |] [ˈʃ‿läːŋk.tɛ̞ŋ.gɛ̞r ˈfø̞.lɛ̞t.tɛ̞ ‖] [väːr ˈäːl.lotː moʃt ˈkøː.hɒ.lom |] [kɛ̞df‿ˈʃ‿ø̞.rø̞m ˈrø̞p.kɛ̞t.tɛ̞k ‖] [ˈhɒ.läːl.hø̞r.geːʃ ˈʃɪ.rɒ.lom |] [ˈzɒj.lɪk mäːr ˈhɛ̞.jɛ̞t.tɛ̞k ‖] [ʃ‿ɒh ˈsɒ.bɒt.ʃäːg nɛ̞m ˈvɪ.ruːl |] [ɒ ˈholt.nɒk ˈveː.reː.bøːl ‖] [ˈkiːn.zoː ˈrɒp.ʃäːk‿ˈkø̞n.ɲɛ̞ hʊlː |] [ˈäːr.väːŋk høː ˈsɛ̞.meː.bøːl ‖] [säːnd mɛ̞g ˈɪʃ.tɛ̞n ɒ ˈmɒ.ɟɒrt |] [kɪt ˈveː.sɛ̞k ˈhäː.ɲäː.nɒk ‖] [ɲuːjt͡ʃ ˈfɛ̞.leː.jɛ̞ ˈveː.døː kɒrt |] [ˈtɛ̞ŋ.gɛ̞.reːn ˈkiːɲ.jäː.nɒk ‖] [bɒl ʃorʃ ˈɒ.kɪt ˈreː.gɛ̞n teːp |] [hozː räː viːg ˈɛ̞s.tɛ̞n.døːt ‖] [ˈmɛ̞g.byːn.høːt.tɛ̞ mäːr ɛ̞ neːp |] [ɒ ˈmuːl.tɒt ˈʃ‿jø.vɛ̞n.døːt ‖] | O God, bless the nation of Hungary With your grace and bounty Extend over it your guarding arm During strife with its enemies Long torn by ill fate Bring upon it a time of relief This nation has suffered for all sins Of the past and of the future! You brought our ancestors up Over the Carpathians' holy peaks By You was won a beautiful homeland For Bendeguz's sons And wherever flow the rivers of The Tisza and the Danube Árpád our hero's descendants Will root and bloom. For us on the plains of the Kuns You ripened the wheat In the grape fields of Tokaj You dripped sweet nectar Our flag you often planted On the wild Turk's earthworks And under Mátyás' grave army whimpered Vienna's "proud fort." Ah, but for our sins Anger gathered in Your bosom And You struck with Your lightning From Your thundering clouds Now the plundering Mongols' arrows You swarmed over us Then the Turks' slave yoke We took upon our shoulders. How often came from the mouths Of Osman's barbarian nation Over the corpses of our defeated army A victory song! How often did your own son aggress My homeland, upon your breast, And you became because of your own sons Your own sons' funeral urn! The fugitive hid, and towards him The sword reached into his cave Looking everywhere he could not find His home in his homeland Climbs the mountain, descends the valley Sadness and despair his companions Sea of blood beneath his feet Ocean of flame above. Castle stood, now a heap of stones Happiness and joy fluttered, Groans of death, weeping Now sound in their place. And Ah! Freedom does not bloom From the blood of the dead, Torturous slavery's tears fall From the burning eyes of the orphans! Pity, O Lord, the Hungarians Who are tossed by waves of danger Extend over it your guarding arm On the sea of its misery Long torn by ill fate Bring upon it a time of relief They who have suffered for all sins Of the past and of the future! | O, my God, the Magyar bless With Thy plenty and good cheer! With Thine aid his just cause press, Where his foes to fight appear. Fate, who for so long did'st frown, Bring him happy times and ways; Atoning sorrow hath weighed down Sins of past and future days. By Thy help our fathers gained Kárpát's proud and sacred height; Here by Thee a home obtained Heirs of Bendegúz, the knight. Where'er Danube's waters flow And the streams of Tisza swell Árpád's children, Thou dost know, Flourished and did prosper well. For us let the golden grain Grow upon the fields of Kún, And let nectar's silver rain Ripen grapes of Tokay soon. Thou our flags hast planted o'er Forts where once wild Turks held sway; Proud Vienna suffered sore From King Mátyás' dark array. But, alas! for our misdeed, Anger rose within Thy breast, And Thy lightnings Thou did'st speed From Thy thundering sky with zest. Now the Mongol arrow flew Over our devoted heads; Or the Turkish yoke we knew, Which a free-born nation dreads. O, how often has the voice Sounded of wild Osman's hordes, When in songs they did rejoice O'er our heroes' captured swords! Yea, how often rose Thy sons, My fair land, upon Thy sod, And Thou gavest to these sons, Tombs within the breast they trod! Though in caves pursued he lie, Even then he fears attacks. Coming forth the land to spy, Even a home he finds he lacks. Mountain, vale – go where he would, Grief and sorrow all the same – Underneath a sea of blood, While above a sea of flame. 'Neath the fort, a ruin now, Joy and pleasure erst were found, Only groans and sighs, I trow, In its limits now abound. But no freedom's flowers return From the spilt blood of the dead, And the tears of slavery burn, Which the eyes of orphans shed. Pity, God, the Magyar, then, Long by waves of danger tossed; Help him by Thy strong hand when He on grief's sea may be lost. Fate, who for so long did'st frown, Bring him happy times and ways; Atoning sorrow hath weighed down All the sins of all his days. |

## Himnusz sculpture

On 7 May 2006, a sculpture was inaugurated for Himnusz at Szarvas Square, Budakeszi, a small town close to Budapest. It was created by Mária V. Majzik, an artist with the Hungarian Heritage Award, depicting the full text of the poem in a circle, centered around a two metres high bronze figure of God, with 21 bronze bells in seven arches between eight pieces of stone, each four and a half metres high. The musical form of the poem can be played on the bells. The cost of its construction, 40 million forints (roughly 200,000 USD), was collected through public subscription.