Narva March

The Narva March (Narvamarschen; Narvan marssi; Narva marss) or the March of Narva is a Swedish military march. It is now often used as a funeral march, especially at Finnish or Estonian state or military funerals.

The march, named after the 1700 battle of Narva, can be traced back in written sources to 1797, when it appeared in a Swedish piano book as Marsch nyttjad då Carl XII:e nalkades Narva ("The March used as Charles XII approached Narva"). Its ultimate origin is unknown, although some have speculated on an ultimate Scottish or Irish origin.

In 1818, on the centennial of Charles XII's death, the Swedish poet Erik Gustaf Geijer wrote a poem to commemorate the event. His words are now often used with the march in Sweden, where it is consequently better known by the first line "Viken, tidens flyktiga minnen".

It should not be confused with the Narvamarsch, a faster march composed by Anders von Düben the Younger.