Kong Christian stod ved højen mast
| English: King Christian stood by the lofty mast | |
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King Christian IV stood by the lofty mast
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National and Royal anthem of  Denmark
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| Also known as | Kong Christian (short) Kongesangen English: The King's Anthem |
| Lyrics | Johannes Ewald, 1778 |
| Music | Composer Unknown |
| Adopted | 1780 |
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Kong Christian stod ved højen mast (instrument)
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Kong Christian stod ved højen mast (Danish pronunciation: [kʌŋ ˈkʁɛsdjan ˈstoːˀð ve ˈhʌjən masd]; "King Christian stood by the lofty mast"), commonly shortened to Kong Christian, is the royal anthem of the Kingdom of Denmark. It also has equal status of national anthem together with Der er et yndigt land, though it is almost exclusively used in relation to the Danish royal house and the military. The theme of the song is about the heroics of Danish sailors during the wars against Sweden in the 17th and 18th centuries.
On New Year's Eve it is tradition to sing along as the Danmarks Radio Girl's Choir sing the song on television, immediately after midnight following the other national anthem. Usually only the first verse is sung on official occasions. Adopted in 1780, it is one of the oldest national anthems in the world.
The lyrics first appeared in May 1778, in Johannes Ewald's vaudeville play, The Fishermen, which premiered at the Royal Danish Theatre in January 1780 on the birthday of King Christian VII. The play depicts the heroics of fishermen from the northern part of Zealand, who saved a lot of sailors from drowning and then refused to take pay for it. For this reason, the play was seen as a tribute to the navy, in particular because of the King Christian song. In the original staging of the play, however, only the final 4th verse was ever sung. The first three verses were omitted because of the animosity they showed towards Sweden, who at the time were an important ally against the United Kingdom as members of the League of Armed Neutrality.
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