Kde domov můj
Kde domov můj (pronounced [ɡdɛ ˈdomof muːj]; English: "Where my home is") is the national anthem of the Czech Republic, written by the composer František Škroup and the playwright Josef Kajetán Tyl.[1]
English: Where My Home Is | |
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Kde domov můj (Where my home is) | |
National anthem of the | |
Lyrics | Josef Kajetán Tyl, 1834 |
Music | František Škroup, 1834 |
Adopted | 1918, 1990 |
Audio sample | |
Kde domov můj (instrumental)
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The piece was written as a part of the incidental music to the comedy Fidlovačka aneb Žádný hněv a žádná rvačka (Fidlovačka, or No Anger and No Brawl). It was first performed by Karel Strakatý at the Estates Theatre in Prague on 21 December 1834. The original song consists of two verses (see below). Although J. K. Tyl is said to have considered leaving the song out of the play, not convinced of its quality, it soon became very popular among Czechs and was accepted as an informal anthem of a nation seeking to revive its identity within the Habsburg Monarchy.
Soon after Czechoslovakia was formed in 1918, the first verse of the song became the Czech part of the national anthem, followed by the first verse of the Slovak song Nad Tatrou sa blýska. The songs reflected the two nations' concerns in the 19th century[2] when they were confronted with the already fervent national-ethnic activism of the Germans and the Hungarians, their fellow ethnic groups in the Habsburg Monarchy. Because of the linguistic and ethnic diversity of the First Republic, official translations were made into Hungarian and German as well.[3]
With the split of Czechoslovakia in 1993, the Czechoslovak anthem was divided as well. While Slovakia extended its anthem by adding a second verse, the Czech Republic's national anthem was adopted unextended, in its single-verse version.[1]
In 1882, Antonín Dvořák used Kde domov můj in his incidental music to the František Ferdinand Šamberk play Josef Kajetán Tyl, Op. 62, B. 125. The overture is often played separately as a concert work entitled Domov můj (My Home).
Original lyrics (from Fidlovačka, 1834)
Czech original and English translation
Czech | IPA transcription | English translation |
---|---|---|
First stanza | ||
Kde domov můj, kde domov můj, |
[ɡdɛ ˈdomof muːj | ɡdɛ ˈdomof muːj] |
Where my home is, where my homeland is, |
Second stanza | ||
Kde domov můj, kde domov můj, |
[ɡdɛ ˈdomof muːj | ɡdɛ ˈdomof muːj] |
Where my home is, where my home is, |
National Anthem of Czechoslovakia 1918–1992
The first stanza, along with that of the Slovak song Nad Tatrou sa blýska which is nowadays the national anthem of Slovakia, became from 1918 to 1992 the national anthem of Czechoslovakia.
Czech and Slovak anthem with English translation
Czech and Slovak | IPA transcription | English translation |
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Stanza 1 (Kde domov můj) | ||
Kde domov můj, kde domov můj, |
[ɡdɛ ˈdomof muːj | ɡdɛ ˈdomof muːj] |
Where my home is, where my home is, |
Stanza 2 (Nad Tatrou sa blýska) | ||
Nad Tatrou sa blýska, hromy divo bijú |
[ˈnat tatrɔʊ̯ sa ˈbliːska | ˈɦrɔmi ˈdiʋɔ ˈbijuː] |
There is lightning over the Tatras, thunders wildly beat, |
Official lyrics (adapted version)
Wikisource has original text related to this article: |
Czech lyrics and English translations
Czech Original | Official Translation | Poetic Translation (Unofficial) |
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Kde domov můj, kde domov můj, |
Where my home is, where my home is, |
Where is my home, where is my home, |
(Lyrics according to Appendix 6 of Czech Act No. 3/1993 Coll., as adapted by Act No. 154/1998 Coll.)
German translation (used 1918–1938 and 1939–1945)
- Wo ist mein Heim, mein Vaterland,
- Wo durch Wiesen Bäche brausen,
- Wo auf Felsen Wälder sausen,
- Wo ein Eden uns entzückt,
- Wenn der Lenz die Fluren schmückt:
- Dieses Land, so schön vor allen,
- Böhmen ist mein Heimatland.
- Böhmen ist mein Heimatland.
Poetic English translation
This version was translated by famous Czech poet and Americanophile Josef Václav Sládek (1845-1912)[4]:
- Where is my home, where is my home?
- Over leas are waters streaming,
- On the hills blue forests dreaming,
- Flowery wolds Spring‘s happy skies,
- Like as earthly Paradise:
- There‘s the land so full of beauty,
- Czechia, my fatherland!
- Where is my home, where is my home?
- Where God self to man had spoken:
- Gentle be, but never broken,
- Ever cheerful, hopeful, strong,
- Bravely thwarting any wrong:
- There‘s the land of manly honor,
- Czechia, my fatherland!
Hungarian translation (used 1920–1938)
- Hol van honom, hol a hazám,
- Hol patak zúg a hegyháton,
- Csörgedez a rónaságon.
- Üde virág a kertben,
- Mint egy földi édenben.
- Ez az istenáldotta föld,
- Cseh föld a hazám,
- Cseh föld a hazám.
References
- "Ročník 1993 – Sbírka Zákonů České Republiky – Částka 2 – Rozeslána dne 29. prosince 1992: 3. Zákon České národní rady o státních symbolech České republiky, § 7: Státní hymna" [1993 – Collection of Laws of the Czech Republic – Section 2 – Dispatched on 29 December 1992: 3. Czech National Council Act on State Symbols of the Czech Republic, Article 7: State anthem] (PDF) (in Czech). Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic. 1993. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 May 2011.
(1) Státní hymnu tvoří první sloka písně Františka Škroupa na slova Josefa Kajetána Tyla "Kde domov můj". (2) Text a notový záznam státní hymny jsou přílohou 6 tohoto zákona. [TRANS] (1) The state anthem is the first verse of the song by František Škroup with the words of Josef Kajetán Tyl "Where my home is". (2) The text and the notes of the national anthem are annex 6 of this Act.
- Auer, Stefan (2004). Liberal Nationalism in Central Europe. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-37860-9.
- Gössel, Gabriel; et al. (2008). Kde domov můj: státní hymna České republiky v proměnách doby [The Czech Republic's national anthem down the ages]. Government of the Czech Republic. ISBN 978-80-87041-42-0.
- J. V. Šmejkal: Píseň písní národu českého, Praha: A. Neubert, 1935, p. 249-250.
External links
- Czech Republic: Kde domov můj? – Audio of the national anthem of the Czech Republic, with information and lyrics
- State Symbols – Ministry of Foreign Affairs – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has a page about state symbols that includes a copy of the music of the anthem.
- New (2008) official recordings – female solo, male solo, choir, and orchestral versions.