Louise Ahlén | |
Birth Name: | Louise Holmer |
Birth Place: | Kristianstad, Scania, Sweden |
Death Place: | Stockholm, Sweden |
Resting Place: | Norra begravningsplatsen, Stockholm |
Occupation: | Writer |
Louise Ahlén (; 28 November 1857 – 24 May 1913) was a Swedish writer most famous for her two added verses to the Swedish National anthem.[1]
Ahlén was born Louise Holmer on the 28 November 1857 in Kristianstad. In 1880 Louise married Abraham Ahlén who worked as a lecturer at Kristianstad's Higher Educational Institute (Swedish: Kristianstads högre allmänna läroverk).
During the Dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden Ahlén wrote two additional verses to the Swedish national anthem Du gamla, du fria. These additions were aimed to make the anthem more patriotic, in contrast to the original that was heavily inspired by the mid 19th-century's pan-Scandinavian Nationalism.
Here are Ahlén's lyrics to Du gamla, du fria: