Many of Franz Stelzhamer’s poems have been set to music. Hoamatsgsang, or song of the homeland, is the best known and most often sung. It appeared in 1841 in the volume Neue Gesänge in obderennsischer Volksmundart, or New Songs in the Upper Austrian Dialect. Only 40 years later was it set to music by Hans Schnopfhagen. Hoamatsgsang was written in the Innviertel dialect and captures the character of Upper Austria. It’s surprising that the first, second and eighth verses of the highly popular poem were not officially declared the national anthem until 1952.