National anthem of Croatia

Monument to Croatian national anthem

"Lijepa naša domovino" (Croatian pronunciation: [ljěː.pa nâ.ʃa do.mǒ.ʋi.no]; "Our Beautiful Homeland") is the national anthem of Croatia. Croatian poet Antun Mihanović wrote the words to it in 1835. Serbian composer Josif Runjanin made the music to it in 1846. The Croatian government made it a national anthem in 1972. Before that, it was often sung by the people as an anthem.

The anthem was first called "Horvatska domovina" ("Croatian homeland"). Some years later, people started calling it by how it's called today. The words of the anthem are also shorter today. Croatians often say the words "Lijepa naša" ("Our beautiful") instead of saying "Croatia".

The song has 4 stanzas but only the first two are usually sung.

Lyrics

Croatian original	IPA transcription	English translation
I Lijepa naša domovino, Oj, junačka zemljo mila, Stare slave djedovino, Da bi vazda sretna bila! Mila kano si nam slavna, Mila si nam ti jedina, Mila kuda si nam ravna, Mila kuda si planina! II Teci, Dravo, Savo, teci, Nit' ti, Dunav, silu gubi, Sinje more, svijetu reci Da svoj narod Hrvat ljubi. Dok mu njive sunce grije, Dok mu hrašće bura vije, Dok mu mrtve grobak krije, Dok mu živo srce bije!	1 [ljěː.pa nâ.ʃa do.mǒ.ʋi.no] [oj jǔ.naːt͡ʃ.kaː zêm.ʎoː mǐ.la] [stâː.re slâ.ʋeː djê.do.ʋi.no] [dâ bi ʋâz.da srět.na bǐː.la] [mǐ.la kâː.no si nâm slâːʋ.na] [mǐ.la si nâm tî jě.diː.naː] [mǐ.la kǔ.daː si nâm rǎːʋ.na] [mǐ.la kǔ.daː si pla.nǐ.na] 2 [tě.t͡si drâː.ʋo sâː.ʋo tě.t͡si] [nit tî dǔ.naʋ sî.lu gǔ.biː] [sîː.ɲeː môː.re sʋjěː.tu rê.t͡si] [da sʋôːj nǎː.rod xř̩.ʋaːt ʎûː.biː] [dôk mu ɲî.ʋe sûːn.t͡se grî.jeː] [dôk mu xr̩âʃ.t͡ɕe bû.ra ʋî.jeː] [dôk mu mř̩t.ʋe grô.bak krî.jeː] [dôk mu ʒǐː.ʋo sr̩̂.t͡se bǐ.je]	I Our beautiful homeland, Oh so fearless and gracious, Our fathers' ancient glory, May you be blessed forever. Dear, you are our only glory, Dear, you are our only one, Dear, we love your plains, Dear, we love your mountains. II Drava, Sava, keep on flowing, Danube, do not lose your vigour, Deep blue sea, tell the world, That a Croat loves his homeland. Whilst his fields are kissed by sunshine, Whilst his oaks are whipped by wild winds, Whilst his dear ones go to heaven, Whilst his live heart beats.