diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index b81ab52..5fb0515 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ maddy uses [semver versioning](https://semver.org/).
 * ![**ADDED**](https://img.shields.io/badge/-ADDED-%23099) GitHub workflow
 * ![**DEPRECATED**](https://img.shields.io/badge/-DEPRECATED-%23666) config flags `isEmphasizedParserEnabled` and `isHTMLWrappedInParagraph`
 * ![**ADDED**](https://img.shields.io/badge/-ADDED-%23099) config flag `enabledParsers` to en-/disable each parser separately
+* ![**ADDED**](https://img.shields.io/badge/-ADDED-%23099) class attribute to code blocks if there is text after the three backticks like ` ```cpp`
 * ?
 
 ## version 1.1.2 2020-10-04
diff --git a/include/maddy/codeblockparser.h b/include/maddy/codeblockparser.h
index 2cb4a97..9f69db9 100644
--- a/include/maddy/codeblockparser.h
+++ b/include/maddy/codeblockparser.h
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ public:
   static bool
   IsStartingLine(const std::string& line)
   {
-    static std::regex re("^(?:`){3}$");
+    static std::regex re("^(?:`){3}(.*)$");
     return std::regex_match(line, re);
   }
 
@@ -123,6 +123,13 @@ protected:
         return;
       }
     }
+    else if (!this->isStarted && line.substr(0, 3) == "```")
+    {
+      line = "<pre class=\"" + line.substr(3) + "\"><code>\n";
+      this->isStarted = true;
+      this->isFinished = false;
+      return;
+    }
 
     line += "\n";
   }
diff --git a/tests/maddy/test_maddy_codeblockparser.cpp b/tests/maddy/test_maddy_codeblockparser.cpp
index 849c7d8..319af98 100644
--- a/tests/maddy/test_maddy_codeblockparser.cpp
+++ b/tests/maddy/test_maddy_codeblockparser.cpp
@@ -59,3 +59,26 @@ TEST_F(MADDY_CODEBLOCKPARSER, ItReplacesMarkdownWithAnHtmlCodeBlock)
 
   ASSERT_EQ(expected, outputString);
 }
+
+TEST_F(MADDY_CODEBLOCKPARSER, ItShouldUseAnythingBehindFirstBackticksAsClass)
+{
+  std::vector<std::string> markdown = {
+    "```cpp"
+    , "some code"
+    , "some other code"
+    , "```"
+  };
+
+  std::string expected = "<pre class=\"cpp\"><code>\nsome code\nsome other code\n</code></pre>";
+
+  for (std::string md : markdown)
+  {
+    cbParser->AddLine(md);
+  }
+  ASSERT_TRUE(cbParser->IsFinished());
+
+  std::stringstream& output(cbParser->GetResult());
+  const std::string& outputString = output.str();
+
+  ASSERT_EQ(expected, outputString);
+}