The incredible story of the Hungarian National Anthem
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Hungary officially adopted its current national anthem in 1989, though several patriotic works had vied for the honour long before. In the 19th century, alongside the Himnusz, works like the Szózat, the Rákóczi March, and others sought to give voice to national unity.
The birth of the Hungarian National Anthem
In the early 19th century, Hungary lacked an official national anthem. Multiple patriotic poems and musical compositions were contenders for the role as the nation’s emblematic song. Although Ferenc Kölcsey penned his poem Himnusz in 1823, it wasn’t printed until years later and only gained widespread recognition after Ferenc Erkel set it to music in 1844.
Around the same time, Sándor Petőfi’s revolutionary National Song also captured the public imagination, becoming one of the symbols of the 1848 revolution. However, it never achieved official anthem status. In that era, Mihály Vörösmarty’s Szózat and the Rákóczi March were also popular national tunes. Several poems and musical works thus competed to serve as a unifying national song.
The unofficial “first” anthem: The Szózat
Before Kölcsey’s work became official, Mihály Vörösmarty’s Szózat was among the most cherished national songs in Hungary. As early as the 1840s, many Hungarians viewed it as a spiritual guide. With its unifying message addressed to the nation and its memorable melody, the piece gained widespread popularity and, for a long time, rivalled the Himnusz as a national symbol.
“No one can take away or dismember the homeland glorified in the Szózat. It irrevocably belongs to us. We carry it within us just as it carries us; (…) The Szózat is an ‘integral part’ of this homeland: without it, our intellectual country would be incomplete, and we could no longer call ourselves Hungarian.” – Mihály Babits on the Szózat, written in 1936 for the poem’s centennial.
By the 1840s, the Szózat was sung at public celebrations, and Lajos Kossuth even declared, “Vörösmarty’s Szózat has already become our national anthem.” In 1843, a competition was held to set the poem to music, which Béni Egressy won. Once paired with music, the piece became even more popular. Although it was never officially codified by law, the Szózat served for years as a de facto national anthem.