Finnish National Anthem for Symphony Orchestra

The original poem, written in 1846 but not printed until 1848, had 11 stanzas and formed the prologue to the verse cycle The Tales of Ensign Stål ("Fänrik Ståhls sägner"), a classic example of Romantic nationalism. The current Finnish language text is usually attributed to the 1889 translation of Ensign Stål by Paavo Cajander, but in fact, originates from the 1867 translation by Julius Krohn.^[5][6]

In the 1880s and the 1920s, there were more attempts to replace it with a Finnish language version but these ceased by the 1930s. Some Finns have proposed that the Finnish national anthem be set as "Finlandia" by Jean Sibelius, with lyrics by V.A. Koskenniemi (Finnish) and Joel Rundt (Swedish).

It is said that Pacius composed the tune in four days. It was popular throughout the 19th century but established its current position only after Pacius' death.