Song, composed by Haydn in 1797. The inspiration for writing this work as an Austrian national anthem apparently stemmed from the composer hearing the British national anthem when he visited London in the 1790s. Its first performance took place before the Kaiser on 12/2/1797, following which the song gained immediate success and was soon established for its intended purpose. A Czech version ‘Bože, zachovej nám krále, Chraniž císaře i zem’ by Josef Antonín Šrůtek of Hradec Králové for the wedding of Franz Josef was published in Lumír 22/4/1854.

The German words were:

Gott erhalte, Franz, den Kaiser,
Unsern gutern Kaiser Franz!
Lange lebe Franz, der Kaiser,
in des Glückes hell stem Glanz!

Ihm er blühen Lorbeerreiser,
we er geht, zun Ehrenkranz!

Gott erhalte Franz, den Kaiser,
unsern guten Kaiser Franz!