"Heil dir, o Oldenburg" (; ), is the city anthem of the City of Oldenburg, and in the past was the national anthem of the Grand Duchy, and after 1918, the Free State of Oldenburg.
History The Grand Duchess Cecilia of Sweden composed the melody in 1835. later wrote the original four-verse version in 1844, and it was adopted soon after. In contrast to most regional anthems of the time, it praised the country itself rather than the ruling house, save for the third line of the first verse, which was changed multiple times.
After the abolition of the monarchy, parts in praise to the former Grand Dukes were changed to reference the people. This version was used by the Free State of Oldenburg until it merged with the new state () of Lower Saxony. It remains in use by the City of Oldenburg for events and such, though it is most commonly sung in a shortened three-verse version, omitting the third stanza.
Lyrics
von Kobbe's version
Some verses focusing more heavily on the royals were later written:
Wilhelm Geiler's verse Written by poet from Westerstede in 1872:
Further changes After the collapse of the German Empire in 1918, though prior to Hitler becoming chancellor in 1933, the line (hail your prince, used instead of for Grand duke) was changed to (hail your leader). In 1980, this was changed by the (a regional organisation to preserve cultural heritage) to (hail your people).
In 2015, the Oldenburg Landschaft changed the line (German men's strength) to (German People's strength).
Melody
Source
References Notes
Citations