National Anthem: Austria - Land der Berge, Land am Strome

Land der Berge, Land am Strome ; Land of mountains, land by the river is the national anthem of Austria. Nineteen days before his death on 5 December 1791, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed his last complete work, the Freimaurerkantate, K. 623. In parts of the printed edition of this cantata there appeared the song K. 623a “Lasst uns mit geschlungnen Händen“ (“Let us with joined hands“). To this melody the Austrian national anthem is sung. Today, Mozart’s authorship is regarded as dubious and the song is attributed to Johann Holzer (1753–1818). The lyrics were written by Paula von Preradović, one of the few women to have written lyrics for a national anthem. On 22 October 1946, it was declared Austria’s official national anthem. On 1 January 2012, parts of the lyrics were changed to make the anthem gender-neutral. Before the World War II Anschluss, Austria’s anthem was Sei gesegnet ohne Ende, to the tune of Haydn’s Gott erhalte, the anthem of imperia