site.btaOh, Dear Native Land: Bulgaria’s National Anthem for 60 Years

Sunday marked the 60th anniversary of Oh, Dear Native Land [Mila Rodino] as Bulgaria's current national anthem.

The lyrics and the tune of the patriotic song were written in 1885 by Tsvetan Radoslavov, then a 22-year-old history student in Vienna, on his way back home to volunteer in the Serbo-Bulgarian War. He used the tune of a Svishtov horo with which he was familiar in his native town. According to another theory, this was a traditional Jewish tune. The song was first published in a music school book in 1895. Dobri Hristov made the initial arrangement for a one-voice choir in 1905. Later on, Boris Trichkov incorporated it into his full-choir composition Dear Native Land, Hail to Thee.

Oh, Dear Native Land became Bulgaria’s national anthem by a National Assembly Presidium decree of September 7, 1964. The decree approved the lyrics and the tune and entered into force when gazetted on the following day. The song was first performed in this capacity on September 9, 1964, which was then celebrated as the country’s national day (marking the 20th anniversary of the 1944 communist takeover).

The tune was additionally harmonized by composers Filip Koutev and Alexander Raichev. Raichev takes credit for the first orchestration of the official version.

Poets Dimitar Metodiev and Georgi Djagarov were tasked with revising Radoslavov's text. They were instructed to make sure that the anthem would "reveal the beauties of the motherland, its glorious history and past, but also stress the guiding role of the [Communist] Party and friendship with the USSR":

“Proudly rise the Balkan peaks,
At their feet Blue Danube flows;
Over Thrace the sun is shining,
Pirin looms in purple glow.

Chorus: Oh, dear native land,
           Earthly paradise!
           For your loveliness, your beauty
           E'er will charm our eyes.

Countless warriors bravely fell,
For the people's sacred cause;
Give us strength and firmness, Mother,
Guide us on the road they chose.

Be as one, Bulgarians!
Moscow stands by us again;
For our valiant Party leads us
On to victory and fame!”

Translated by Katya Boyadjieva

After the democratic changes, during debates at the Grand National Assembly on the country’s new Constitution (adopted in 1990), it was finally resolved to keep Oh, Dear Native Land as national anthem, dropping the second and third stanzas and using only the first stanza and the chorus.

In its full version, the stanza of the national anthem is performed once and the chorus twice. Within one and the same ceremony, it can only be performed once a day. On formal occasions, Oh, Dear Native Land is played in combination with the Anthem of Europe.

The latest official version of the anthem was recorded in May 2024 by the Sofia Philharmonic, conducted by Nayden Todorov.