Switzerland’s first anthem, used for official political and military occasions as a de facto national anthem since the mid 19th century, had the same melody as that of the British anthem, which was a popular melody for European state and royal anthems in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (such as Prussia, Germany, and, to this day Liechtenstein, which is also a neighbour and close ally of Switzerland.) The author of the German lyrics, a professor of philosophy at the University of Bern, was also the editor of the novel “The Swiss Family Robinson”, which was written by his father. The lyrics never had an official version, as the song was never officially declared as the anthem, but the version presented here seem to be the most common in the 20th century.
It was decided to replace this anthem, which led to a few embarassing situations since it is also more often recognized as the anthem of another nation, with a Swiss creation in 1961.
Special thanks to: Artakorn Jarusriwanna for providing me with the sheet music.
See also: United Kingdom.