Swiss Watching trivia, No 4: National Anthem

August 4, 2010, 1 Comment

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4v7FLLxnHks]

National anthem

For years the unofficial Swiss anthem was Rufst du mein Vaterland, using words written by Johann Wyss (author of Swiss Family Robinson). Trouble was, it had the same tune as God Save the Queen; clearly rather confusing at Swiss-British joint events. A government competition to find a new anthem ended up with an old one, written back in 1841 by Alberik Zwyssig from Canton Uri. Clearly modern Swiss composers were lacking something. On 1 April 1981 the Swiss Psalm was declared the official national anthem. It’s like a church hymn – dignified and calming rather than jingoistic and upbeat. Perhaps that’s why it’s not so popular: in 2009 the Swiss parliament voted not to sing it at the opening of its annual sessions. Or maybe they just didn’t want to sing it in all four national languages.