Der Er Et Yndigt Land

Der er et yndigt land ("There is a lovely country") is the (civil) national anthem of Denmark. On royal occasions, the royal anthem Kong Christian stod ved højen mast is performed together with Der er et yndigt land.

In common use, only the first verse (or stanza) and the last three lines of the fourth verse are sung. The first half of the last verse is rarely heard. The last line of each verse is repeated once.

The lyrics were written in 1819 by Adam Oehlenschläger and bore the motto in Latin: Ille terrarum mihi praeter omnes angulus ridet (Horace: "This corner of the earth smiles for me more than any other"). When first published, the anthem had 12 verses, but this was shortened to the first, third, fifth, and last verse in later editions. The music was composed in 1835 by Hans Ernst Krøyer. Later, Thomas Laub and Carl Nielsen each composed alternative melodies, but neither of them has gained widespread adoption, and today they are mostly unknown to the general population.