<P> The music is the hymn `` Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser '' , written in 1797 by the Austrian composer Joseph Haydn as an anthem for the birthday of Francis II , Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and later of Austria . In 1841 , the German linguist and poet August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben wrote the lyrics of `` Das Lied der Deutschen '' as a new text for that music , counterposing the national unification of Germany to the eulogy of a monarch , lyrics that were considered revolutionary at the time . </P>
<P> The music is the hymn `` Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser '' , written in 1797 by the Austrian composer Joseph Haydn as an anthem for the birthday of Francis II , Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and later of Austria . In 1841 , the German linguist and poet August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben wrote the lyrics of `` Das Lied der Deutschen '' as a new text for that music , counterposing the national unification of Germany to the eulogy of a monarch , lyrics that were considered revolutionary at the time . </P>
who wrote the music for the german national anthem
who wrote the music for the german national anthem
Austrian composer Joseph Haydn
Austrian composer Joseph Haydn