Mu isamaa, mu õnn ja rõõm
"Mu isamaa, mu õnn ja rõõm" is the national anthem of Estonia. It was adopted as the national anthem in 1920.
The lyrics were written by Johann Voldemar Jannsen and are set to a melody composed in 1848 by Fredrik Pacius which is also that of the national anthem of Finland: "Maamme". The only difference between the two anthems is the key signature they are in. It is also considered to be an ethnic anthem for Livonian people with text "Min izāmō, min sindimō".History
The song was first presented to the public as a choral work in the Grand Song Festival of Estonia in 1869 and quickly became a symbol of the Estonian National Awakening.
"Mu isamaa, mu õnn ja rõõm" was officially adopted as the national anthem of Estonia in 1920, after the Estonian War of Independence. In contrast, Finland never passed an equivalent legislation for "Maamme", thus it is considered to be the de facto Finnish national anthem.
In 1944, the Soviet Union occupied Estonia and "Mu isamaa, mu õnn ja rõõm" ended up being banned by the Soviet regime. The Soviet Estonia had its own regional anthem. Yet the people of Estonia could often hear their former national anthem as Finland's state broadcaster Yleisradio, whose radio and television broadcasts were received in northern Estonia, played an instrumental version of the Finnish national anthem, identical to this song, at the conclusion of its broadcast every night.Lyrics
Estonian lyrics
The official lyrics are in Estonian.English translations
