- Badnerlied
The Badnerlied ("Song of the People of Baden") is the unofficial
hymn of the former state ofBaden , now part ofBaden-Württemberg .Origin
The song was adapted around
1865 from a similar hymn praisingSaxony , which has since fallen into obscurity. Two reference points are the Festung inRastatt and the industrialization ofMannheim . The verse beginning with "Alt-Heidelberg , Du feine" originates from the poem "The Trumpeteer of Säckingen", a poem written around 1852 byJoseph Victor von Scheffel , who was also a resident of Baden.The earliest printed version of the Badnerlied appeared in 1906, in "Marschlieder des 5. badischen Infanterieregiments Nr. 113" ("Marching songs of the 5th Infantry regiment of Baden").Importance
In the 1920s, there was talk of making the song the official hymn of Baden, but nothing came of it. The song's popularity was rekindled in the 1950s, in the wake of Baden having been absorbed into Baden-Württemberg; it has since remained the most popular regional hymn in south-west Germany.
The Badnerlied is played at home games of regional
football , such asSC Freiburg orKarlsruher SC , but also in other contexts. The first four verses are the best known; the fifth ("Der Bauer und der Edelmann...") is not as well known.Variations
The order of the verses also is subject to change, particularly swapping the second and fourth verses. Other small variations exist; in many places, "steht" is substituted for "ist", for example "In Rastatt ist die Festung" becoming "In Rastatt steht die Festung".
Many additional verses have been written. Particularly popular are those dealing with specific regions or cities, as well as those disparaging
Swabia .Rothaus , the state brewery of Baden, has its own modification, replacing "In Rastatt ist die Festung" with "In Rothaus ist die Brauerei". This is particularly the case at football (soccer) games sponsored by the brewery. This is not the case with SC Freiburg; Karlsruher SC displays the text on the video screen, but the audio differs.Charts created by the radio station SWR1 placed the Badnerlied at #9 for the whole state of Baden. Some regions scored higher;
Konstanz (population 82,000) ranked it at #3; InMosbach , it was even ranked as #1, leading an organization to name the residents of Mosbach as the 2006 Badeners of the year.Text
Literatur
* Waltraud Linder-Beroud: "Ein neues Land – ein neues Lied?" Badische Heimat 82 (2002), p. 96-109.
* Lutz Röhrich: "„... und das ist Badens Glück“. Heimatlieder und Regionalhymnen im deutschen Südwesten. Auf der Suche nach Identität". Jahrbuch für Volksliedforschung, Jg. 35 (1990), p. 14-25.External links
* [http://www1.karlsruhe.de/Stadtraum/badnerlied.htm Badnerlied with Text, Notes, and an mp3] de icon
* [http://www.badnerlied.badnerland2000.de Page with many examples of unofficial verses] de icon
* [http://www.der-heimatpfleger.de/hp3_2002/lied3_2002.html The Badnerlied and other south-western German homeland hymns.] de icon
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