Joseph Haydn (1732-1809), a famous Austrian and Croatian composer, died 200 years ago. He was born in a Croatian ethnic enclave in Burgenland (Gradisce) in Austria. Joseph Haydn composed a lovely melody which is based on a very old Croatian folk song. He named it Volkslied (Folk song), and later it became the Austrian national anthem. This melody is the contemporary German national anthem that everybody knows.

Pencil sketch by George Dance, 1794. Source of the photo Classical Music Pages.