National Anthem of Croatia | Lijepa naša domovino | Lyrics

Lyrics by: Antun Mihanović
Music by: Josip Runjanin
Adopted: 29 February 1972

"Lijepa naša domovino" ("Our Beautiful Homeland") is the national anthem of Croatia. Often simply referred to as "Lijepa naša" ("Our Beautiful") in Croatia, it is a phrase widely used as a metonym for the country.

The original lyrics were written by Antun Mihanović and first published under the title Horvatska domovina (Croatian homeland) in 1835. In 1846, Josip Runjanin composed the music for the song. The original form of the melody is unknown, as the original has not been recovered.

The song was scored and harmonized for a male choir, by a teacher and organist of the Zagreb Cathedral, Vatroslav Lichtenegger in 1861, after which it began being performed as the Croatian people's ethnic anthem. The title "Lijepa naša" has been used for the song since.

The song was not immediately adopted by the Croatian Parliament as the national anthem. In 1907, the Association of Croatian Singing Clubs requested the parliament to do so but received no response. Despite this, the song was used as the state anthem in unofficial capacity at ceremonies, including the 29 October 1918 session of parliament, during which Croatia formally severed its ties with Austria-Hungary.

Between 1918 and 1941, segments of the Croatian national anthem were used as part of the national anthem of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. During World War II, in the Independent State of Croatia it was also used as the state anthem, albeit with some modifications to the lyrics. Croatian Partisans also used it, for example during ZAVNOH sessions.

The song officially became the state anthem of Croatia through amendments of the Constitution of Croatia adopted by the parliament of the SR Croatia on 29 February 1972. It was confirmed by the constitutions of 1974 and 1990, when its lyrics were slightly modified.