Which hymn as the same tune as the German National anthem? Which was written first?
The tune was written by Franz Joseph Haydn as the AUSTRIAN national anthem in 1797 (which it was until 1946), and it was used in many different ways after that, and was used as the tune for various hymn texts as early as 1800. The tune name is “Austria.” It was paired with “Glorious things of thee are spoken” in 1889. That text was written by John Newton (“Amazing Grace”) sometime before 1779, when it was published. (This is a much different tune from Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy.”) The German national song, “Deutschland, Deutschland, uber alles,” was written to the tune in 1880, so there were many other words put to the tune before then. Austria and “Glorious things” remained very popular until WWII. In my opinion, enough time has passed for this very good tune to have become useful once again, and I do not shrink from selecting it.
