Austrian national anthem, “Gott erhalte”, sound recording, around 1914

The law on the national holiday was followed shortly afterwards by one on a new coat of arms for the state, and in 1920 a melody by Wilhelm Kienzl, with words by Karl Renner, ‘Deutschösterreich du herrliches Land’ (‘German-Austria, thou splendid land’), was chosen as the national anthem. In particular the story of the origin of the anthem shows how difficult it was to find even symbols for the new state that its citizens could identify with.

Emperor Franz Joseph was the symbol par excellence of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. For most of his subjects the Emperor was a sacrosanct figure who deserved their utmost respect. He had been on the throne since 1848 and for one and all was simply ‘the Kaiser’.