Austria's national anthem was once mistakenly credited to Mozart and later became gender-neutral

Countries & Cities · Published 15 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Austria's official anthem, Land der Berge, Land am Strome, has a complex history involving disputed authorship and evolving lyrics. Originally adopted without words in 1946, the melody was long misattributed to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Today, it reflects modern values through official changes made to ensure gender-inclusive language.

The melody of the Austrian national anthem is officially linked to a composition titled Lasst uns mit geschlungnen Händen, which appeared in a printed edition of a cantata by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. However, modern scholars consider the claim of Mozart's sole authorship to be dubious. The music is now more frequently attributed to either Johann Holzer or Paul Wranitzky. This uncertainty highlights the complex origins of national symbols that often become entrenched in cultural identity despite murky historical roots.

The anthem's lyrics were penned by Paula von Preradović and adopted in 1947, a year after the melody was officially selected. The choice of a new anthem was driven by a desire to distance the nation from the previous state song, which shared its melody with the German national anthem. This older tune had been associated with imperial Austria since 1797 and was used during the National Socialist era, leading to its temporary prohibition after World War II.

In the decades following its adoption, the anthem became a subject of debate regarding its traditional language. In 2005, Women's Minister Maria Rauch-Kallat proposed modifications to remove gender-specific terms like sons and fraternal, though her efforts initially faced political and public resistance. A significant shift occurred in 2012 when the government officially codified changes to the lyrics, incorporating gender-neutral phrasing. Today, only the first verse is considered official, though the anthem has inspired various parodies and modern interpretations, including a legal battle over a pop-rock version that the Austrian Supreme Court of Justice ultimately permitted as a modernization.

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