Kong Christian stod ved højen mast
National anthem of Denmark
"Kong Christian stod ved højen mast" (Danish: [kʰʌŋ ˈkʰʁestjæn ˈstoðˀ ve̝ ˈhʌjˀn̩ mæst, - ˈkʰʁæs-]; lit. 'King Christian stood by the lofty mast'), or simply "Kong Christian", is one of the two national anthems of Denmark, the other being "Der er et yndigt land". It is generally reserved for use by the Danish royal house and the military. The theme of the song is the heroics of Danish and Norwegian sailors during the wars against Sweden (including the Torstenson War) in the 17th and 18th centuries.
On New Year's Eve, it is tradition to sing along as the Danmarks Radio Girl's Choir sings 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.
History
History of the lyrics
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 many sailors from drowning and then refused to accept a reward for it. For this reason, the play was seen as a tribute to the navy, particularly because of the King Christian song. In the original staging, however, only the final fourth verse was ever sung. The first three verses were omitted because of the animosity they showed towards Sweden, which at the time was an important ally against the United Kingdom as a member of the League of Armed Neutrality.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Kong Christian stod ved højen mast” is national anthem of Denmark. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Kong, Christian and stod, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “national anthem of Denmark” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 5, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q908519. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1780 and 1778.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Kong Christian stod ved højen mast”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Kong Christian stod ved højen mast primary sources, Kong Christian stod ved højen mast archive and Kong research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Kong Christian stod ved højen mast”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Kong Christian stod ved højen mast” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.