Macht hoch die Tür
| "Macht hoch die Tür" | |
|---|---|
| Lutheran hymn | |
"Macht hoch die Tür" in a five-part setting by Max Reger | |
| Written | 1623 |
| Text | by Georg Weissel |
| Language | German |
| Melody | by |
| Composed |
|
| Published | 1642 |
"Macht hoch die Tür" ("Fling wide the door") is a popular German Advent hymn, written in 17th century Ducal Prussia. The lyrics were written by Georg Weissel in 1623 for the inauguration of the Altroßgärter Kirche in Königsberg. The melody that is now associated with the text appeared first in 1704 in the hymnal by Johann Anastasius Freylinghausen.
"Macht hoch die Tür" appears as number 1 in the current German Protestant hymnal Evangelisches Gesangbuch (EG 1). It is also part of the Catholic hymnal Gotteslob (GL 218), among others. As one of the best-known and most popular Advent songs, it was translated into English by Catherine Winkworth in 1855 as "Lift up your heads, ye mighty gates". It has also been translated into Swedish and Norwegian, as well as Indian languages like Telugu and Tamil.