"Bože pravde" (Serbian:Боже правде,Serbian pronunciation:[bǒʒeprâːʋde]; 'O God of Justice')[6] is thenational anthem ofSerbia, as defined by the Article 7 of theConstitution of Serbia.[7] "Bože pravde" was adopted in 1882 and had been the national anthem of theKingdom of Serbia until 1919 when Serbia became a part of theKingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.[8] It was re-adopted as the national anthem at first by the parliamentary recommendation in 2004 and then constitutionally sanctioned in 2006, after Serbia restored its independence.[9]
Lyrics of the abandoned 1865 anthem written by Jovan Jovanović ZmajPoem text (first version of the lyrics) of Jovan Đorđević'sMarkova sablja
Before Serbia had an official national anthem, there were several songs that were unofficially used in this manner. The most popular of these was "Rado ide Srbin u vojnike" also known as "Graničarska pesma" (Granichary Song), which was written in 1844 byVasa Živković on a melody composed byNikola Đurković. It was used as a Serbian anthem during theRevolution of 1848.[10]
The first initiative to create an official Serbian anthem came fromPrince Mihailo in 1865. He hired (through the Ministry of Education) poetJovan Jovanović Zmaj, to write lyrics, and composerKornelije Stanković, to compose a melody for a new anthem.[10] This anthem was created, but was not adopted, and was soon completely forgotten.[11] Although it had no title,[12] the first verse of this anthem was also "Bože pravde".[13]
After the assassination of Prince Mihailo in 1868,Prince Milan came to the throne. In 1872, celebrating his coming of age, he ordered a play from the manager of theNational Theater in Belgrade,Jovan Đorđević. Đorđević quickly wrote and presented the play "Markova sablja" (Marko's sword),[14][15] with the aim of glorifying Serbian history and the rulinghouse of Obrenović. The song "Bože pravde", composed byDavorin Jenko, was part of the play's musical score. The song gained more popularity among the people than the piece itself, and in 1882, on the occasion of Milan's enthronement as Serbian king, Đorđević reworked the text and so his new version became the first official anthem of Serbia.[16][17][10]
In 1903, after theMay Coup, the Obrenović dynasty died out and thehouse of Karađorđević came to the helm of Serbia. A competition for a new anthem was announced. It was won byAleksa Šantić with a song titled "Bože, na polja zemlje ove" for which he wrote both lyrics and melody, but this new anthem was not officially adopted.[10] Eventually, in 1909, KingPeter I decided to make the anthem "Bože pravde" official again, with minor changes to the text.[10]
Various rulers of Serbia changed the words of the anthem to suit them. During the rule of PrinceMilan I, the words wereknez Milana Bože spasi ('God save Prince Milan'), which was changed tokralj Milana Bože spasi ('God save King Milan'), when Serbia became a kingdom. It was later tailored toAlexander I with the versekralja Aleksandra Bože spasi ('God save King Alexander'), andPeter I withkralja Petra Bože spasi ('God save King Peter') as well.[18]
"Bože pravde" was officially abandoned and banned after the World War II in 1945, in favour of "Hej, Sloveni" ('Hey, Slavs'), which was thenational anthem ofSocialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia for 47 years, from 1945 to 1992. After the break-up of Yugoslavia in 1991-1992, onlySerbia andMontenegro remained in the federation (i.e. the newly-formedSerbia and Montenegro), but since no agreement over the anthem could be reached, "Hej, Sloveni" remained the national anthem. Many Serbs disliked the song during this period and booed it whenever it was played, such as at sporting events.[19] In 1992, "Vostani Serbije" and "March on the Drina" were proposed as the anthem of Serbia along with "Bоže pravde".[20] "March on the Drina", popularized by then-rulingSocialist Party of Serbia, even received a plurality of popular vote onreferendum, but was never officially adopted.[21]
The recommendation on the use of "Bože pravde" was adopted unanimously by theNational Assembly in 2004 and constitutionally sanctioned in 2006, after Serbia restored its independence, while the recommended text was promulgated into the law in 2009.[6][9]It utilizes slightly modified original lyrics, asserting that Serbia is no longer amonarchy — all the verses that had a monarchist overtone were changed. In three verses,srpskog kralja ('Serbian king') was changed tosrpske zemlje ('Serbian lands'), and the versesrpskog kralja Bože hrani ('God save the Serbian king') was changed toBože spasi, Bože brani ('God protect, God defend'). In public performances, the versesBože spasi, Bože hrani ('God protect, God bless') andsrpske zemlje, srpski rod ('Serbian lands, Serbian race') are often sung on the repeat asSrbiju nam Bože brani ('Our Serbia, God defend') andmoli ti se sаv naš rod ('our whole race prays to you'), respectively.
"Bože pravde" was also used until 2006 as theregional anthem of theRepublika Srpska, aconstituency ofBosnia and Herzegovina, when it was ruled down by the country's constitutional court for being unconstitutional and replaced with "Moja Republika".[22][23] In 2024, during the heightened tensions in the Bosnia and Herzegovina,Parliament of Republika Srpska passed a law regarding the national symbols, which accepts "Bože Pravde" to be in official use in Republika Srpska, alongside "Moja Republika", though not naming "Bože Pravde" anthem of the Republika Srpska.[24][25]
The full Serbian national anthem as officially defined consists of eightstanzas, but usually only the first two are performed on public occasions for reasons of brevity.[9] The third verse is also usually omitted in full performances.[26]
^Translated byElizabeth Christitch, originally published inThe Times. Note: this is a free, not literal, translation of the lyrics, also fitting the metre of the original.
^abIn public performances, often sung on the repeat asSrbiju nam, Bože brani/moli ti se sаv naš rod ("Our Serbia, God defend/ Our whole race prays to you")[26][28]
^abcd"Zakon o izgledu i upotrebi grba, zastave i himne Republike Srbije" [Law on the Appearance and Use of the Coat of arms, the Flag and the Anthem of the Republic of Serbia].Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia – No. 36/2009 (in Serbian). Narodna skupština Republike Srbije – JP "Službeni glasnik". 2009-05-11. Archived fromthe original on 2009-12-19. Retrieved2009-06-26.
^Šumarević, Svetislav (1939).Позориште код Срба [Theater in Serbs] (in Serbian). Belgrade: Luča. p. 400.
^abJovanović, Nenad M. (2010).Grbovi, zastave i himne u istoriji Srbije. Belgrade-Cetinje. p. 132.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
