Heil dir im Siegerkranz
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Imperial anthem of the  German Empire
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| Lyrics | Heinrich Harries, 1790 |
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| Music | Unknown composer (uses the melody of "God Save the King") |
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"Heil dir im Siegerkranz" (German for "Hail to Thee in Victor's Crown") was the official national anthem of the German Empire from 1871 to 1918. Before the foundation of the Empire, it had been the royal anthem of Prussia since 1795 and remained it after 1871. The melody of the hymn derived from the British anthem "God Save the Queen". For these reasons, the song failed to become popular within all of Germany. Not only did it fail to win the support of most German nationalists, it was never recognized by the southern German states, such as Bavaria or Württemberg. After World War I, the German Empire came to an end and "Das Lied der Deutschen" became the national anthem of the Weimar Republic.
"Die Wacht am Rhein" ("The Watch on the Rhine") was also a patriotic hymn so popular that it was often regarded as an unofficial national anthem.
Heinrich Harries wrote the lyrics in 1790 in honour of King Christian VII of Denmark, and the line "Heil, Kaiser, dir" originally read "Heil, Christian, dir". In 1793, Harries' text was adapted by Balthasar Gerhard Schumacher for use in Prussia. Schumacher shortened Harries' text and replaced the word Christian with the word König (king). After the proclamation of the German Empire, the word König was replaced by Kaiser (emperor).
These lyrics were used for the reign of Kaiser Wilhelm II, German Emperor and King of Prussia. One of the jokes at the time was that the song's title be changed to "Heil Dir im Sonderzug" ("Hail to Thee in Thy Royal Train"), owing to the Kaiser's frequent travels.
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