Zdravljica
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| English: A Toast | |
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 Original manuscript of Zdravljica, written in the Bohorič alphabet |
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National anthem of  Slovenia(the 7th stanza) |
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| Also known as | Zdravica |
| Lyrics | France Prešeren, 1844 |
| Music | Stanko Premrl, 1905 |
| Adopted | 1989 |
| Music sample | |
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Zdravljica (A Toast) or Zdravica, written in 1844 and published with some changes in 1848, is a poem by the Slovene Romantic poet France Prešeren, considered the national poet of Slovenes. On 27 September 1989, it became the national anthem of Slovenia.1
Zdravljica is a drinking song and a carmen figuratum because the shape of each stanza resembles a wine cup. In it, the poet declares his belief in a free-thinking Slovene and Slavic political awareness. It has been interpreted as a promotion of the idea of a united Slovenia, which the March Revolution in 1848 elevated into a national political programme.
With the act on the national symbols of Slovenia, passed in 1994, the eponymous melody by Stanko Premrl, written after the lyrics of the seventh stanza of the Prešeren's poem, emphasising internationalism,1 has been defined as the anthem.234
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History
Censorship did not allow for the poem to be printed. Later Prešeren himself intended to include it in his poem collection Poezije (Poems), and to that end omitted the third stanza ("V sovražnike 'z oblakov / rodú naj naš'ga treši gróm") in order to save the rest. However the censor (fellow-Slovene Franc Miklošič in Austrian service) saw in the fourth stanza ("Edinost, sreča, sprava / k nam naj nazaj se vrnejo") an expression of pan-Slavic sentiment and therefore did not allow its publication either. Prešeren believed the poem would be mutilated without both the third and the fourth stanza and decided against including it in the Poezije. The integral version was first published after the March Revolution when the censorship was abolished. It was published on 26 April 1848 in the newspaper Kmetijske in rokodelske novice, edited by the conservative Slovene leader Janez Bleiweis.
Zdravljica was first set to music in 1905 by the Slovene composer Stanko Premrl in a choral composition.
National anthem
Zdravljica, in the composition of Premrl, was adopted as the anthem on 27 September 1989 by the Socialist Republic of Slovenia before the breakup of Yugoslavia. Therefore, it was the anthem of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia, the Republic of Slovenia as a constituent republic of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 8 March 1990 to 25 June 1991, and of the Republic of Slovenia as a sovereign state.
The question about whether the entire Zdravljica or only its seventh stanza constitute the national anthem of Slovenia is still unresolved. According to the Article 6 of the Constitution of Slovenia, valid since 1991, the national anthem of Slovenia is the entire Zdravljica. According to the Act Regulating the Coat-of-Arms, Flag and Anthem of the Republic of Slovenia and the Flag of the Slovene Nation, valid since 1994, the national anthem of Slovenia is its seventh stanza and the web pages of the National Assembly cite the 7th stanza as the anthem of Slovenia.1 In practice, mostly only the seventh stanza is sung and reproduced as the national anthem.5
Jernej Letnar Černič, a law expert and university lecturer, wrote in September 2010 that the act contradicted the constitution and therefore the entire Zdravljica should be considered the anthem. He also stated that from the ethic, moral, civilization and statehoodclarification needed point of view it seemed to be necessary for Slovenia to use the entire poem as its anthem.5 Slovene writer Boris Pahor suggested that using a combination of verses of the seventh and the second stanza as the national anthem, as the second stanza mentions Slovenes, whereas the seventh stanza doesn't.1
See also
- National symbols of Slovenia
- Naprej zastava slave, former anthem of the Slovene nation
References
- ^ a b c d Božič, Dragan (3 November 2010). "Katero kitico č'mo kot himno zapet' [Which Stanza Should We As the Anthem Sing?]" (in Slovene). http://www.delo.si/clanek/127578. Retrieved 14 February 2011.
- ^ Mamić, Tino (17 July 2010). "Slovensko himno zapisal na »škrtoc« [He Wrote the Slovenian Anthem on a Paper Bag]" (in Slovene). Primorske novice (163): p. 13. http://www.indalosia.de/PDF-Files/Maji2%20-%20Sobota.pdf.
- ^ Jesenovec, Stanislav (January 2011). "Cultural Trails: Symbols of State". Sinfo Magazine (Government Communication Office): p. 43. ISSN 1854-0813. http://www.scribd.com/doc/45658601/Sinfo-Magazine-Dec-2010.
- ^ Jesenovec, Stanislav (17 February 2009). "Pesniku toplo, skladatelju vroče [Warm to the Poet, Hot to the Composer]" (in Slovene). Delo.si. ISSN 1854-6544. http://www.delo.si/clanek/76162.
- ^ a b Lotnar Černič, Jernej (24 September 2010). "Himna Slovenije je Zdravljica in ne samo njena sedma kitica [The Anthem of Slovenia is Zdravljica and not only its Seventh Stanza]". IUS-INFO. http://www.iusinfo.si/DnevneVsebine/Kolumna.aspx?id=58990. Retrieved 14 February 2011.
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