Heil dir im Siegerkranz [Unofficial imperial German anthem][+English translation]

“Heil dir im Siegerkranz“ German for “Hail to Thee in the Victor’s Crown“, (literally: “Hail to Thee in the Victor’s Wreath“) was the Kaiserhymne (imperial anthem) of the German Empire from 1871 to 1918 and royal anthem of Prussia from 1795 to 1918. Before the foundation of the Empire in 1871, it had been the royal anthem of Prussia since 1795 and remained it after 1871. The melody of the hymn derived from the British anthem “God Save the King“. For these reasons, the song failed to become popular within all of Germany. Not only did it fail to win the support of most German nationalists, but it also was never recognized by the southern German states, such as Bavaria or Württemberg. At the near end of World War I, the German Empire was overthrown and “Das Lied der Deutschen“ was adopted as the national anthem of its successor, the Weimar Republic. It is often called the official national anthem of the German Empire. However the German