I have previously written about the annual European Tree of
the Year. If you want to have a look at
those past posts, click on the following links:
Winners 2011-2018:
Nominees 2019, Part 1:
Nominees 2019, Part 2:
The winners of the 2020 Tree of the Year were announced in
May, This was the tenth anniversary of the sear5ch for trees with the most
interesting stories. According to Tree
Hunter Rob McBride: “Old trees are the last traces of a vanished landscape.
They are thus often the only living witnesses of our common European history.”
Here are the 16 finalists, counting down to 3rd,
2nd and 1st places, text and photos from the TOTY website
at:
Name
of tree: Oak Vallonea of Tricase
Species: Vallanea Oak
Age: 700 years
Region: Tricase, Puglia, Italy
Votes: 10,730
Position: 16th
Story:
A
place of dreaming
The
Vallonea Oak of Tricase is the oldest tree of its species in Salento, with an
age of 700 years and a crown of 700 square metres. Candidate to become an
UNESCO site, in 2000 the WWF elected it the Apulian symbol tree. In many
legends, it is thought to be the "Oak of the hundred knights" because
it is said that Frederick II met his army under it. For centuries it has contributed
to the development of the local economy and is still a very important point of
reference for its people, under the thoughtful care of its owner and local
community.
Name of tree: The
Tree of Freedom
Species: Horse-Chestnut
Age: 223 years
Region: Waret-La-Chaussee,
Wallonia, Belgium
Votes: 10,942
Position: 15th
Story:
The Tree of Freedom of the Waret citizens, a symbol of the
defence of our rural character
A tree is a true symbol of liberty. Liberty is rooted in the
heart of the people like a tree thrusts its roots into the heart of the earth.
The horse chestnut tree of the Waret citizens symbolises the defence of their
rural character. It was planted in 1796 as ordered by the executive Directory
of the Canton of Eghezée to celebrate the fall of the "tyrant" Louis
XVI. In 1807 a stone niche was erected at its foot endowing it with a sacred
character and an aura of tranquility.
Name of tree: The
Venerable Oak in Novo Selo Village
Species: Common Oak
Age: About 500 years
Region: Village of
Novo Selo, Veliko Tarnovo Municipality, Bulgaria
Votes: 11,191
Position: 14th
Story:
The Venerable Oak - a memory and symbol of Novo Selo village
The five-century-old oak, which is nowadays in the centre of
the village, has been a silent witness to the building of the new settlement on
the Balkans mountainside. The village of Novo selo appeared at the site of a
former thick oak forest and swamps. The oak’s bark has kept and carried through
the centuries the story of this village, built in 1750. In 2010, for the
celebrations of its 260th anniversary, the local people planted a small oak
near the old tree. They wanted to ensure that the “old man” - while still alive
– will hand down the story of Novo selo to its younger heir. Oh, if only the
oak could tell its story today…
Name of tree: Witch’s
Yew Tree
Species: Yew
Age: 600 years
Region: Blarney,
Cork, Ireland
Votes: 11,372
Position: 13th
Story:
An ancient tree with a legendary story
The ancient Witch’s Yew Tree, situated in the Mythical Rock
Close on the grounds of Blarney Castle Estate in Southern Ireland, has been
estimated by experts to be in excess of 600 years old. This majestic and
awe-inspiring specimen sits atop a natural outcrop of limestone rock, that
houses the Witch's Kitchen, an 18th century folly that's said to be home of the
Blarney Witch who first told mortals of the Blarney Stone’s magic powers and
its ability to grant the gift of eloquence.
Name of tree: Elderberry
Tree
Species: Elderberry
Age: 200 years
Region: Rzeszow.
Podkarpackie Province, Poland
Votes: 11,691
Position: 12th
Story:
Magic of nature
Sometimes there are peculiar things in our world. One of
them is the 200-year-old elderberry tree growing in the center of Rzeszów.
Usually elder is a shrub, so its tree-like form is a unique phenomenon.
Centuries ago elderberry was considered by the Slavonic and Germanic nations as
a sacred gift of nature. Even though our relationship with nature is no longer
as strong as it used to be, residents spent a long time fighting to protect and
preserve the beauty of this unusual tree.
Name of tree: The
Multisecular Beech of Saint-Jammes
Species: European
Beech
Age: 450 years
Region: Soreze,
Occitania Region, South of France
Votes: 12,192
Position: 11th
Story:
The heritage tree of the Black Mountain
I am a colossal beech with a sculptural trunk, watching the
ruins of the pre-Romanesque chapel of St-Jammes. At 450 years old I am the
oldest tree in the Black Mountain having survived strong local winds and the
French Revolution. I have seen many animals, pilgrims and hikers stopping by,
and still am the place of an ancestral fertility rite. Leaning on my cane and
facing the local History of this mountain, I have fascinated people locally and
nationally by my presence, my aura of legends, my resilience and my vitality.
Name of tree: Precious
Sorb Tree
Species: Sorb Tree
Age: 250 years
Region: Uzovska
Panica, District Rimavska Sobota, Slovakia
Votes: 13,582
Position: 10th
Story:
Living memory
This precious Sorb Tree was planted during the reign of
Maria Theresia. Because of its robustness people used it as a boundary tree
between the villages. The tree still bears large pink-yellow pear-shaped
fruits. Sorbs are mysterious and rare in this region of Slovakia. Nowadays, a
lone tree is just a memory of the former prosperous period of fruit growing in
the region. Therefore it is a challenge for future generations to save existing
precious trees and discover more that have been almost forgotten.
Name of tree: The
Three-Legged Spanish Oak
Species: Holm Oak
Age: 1200 years
Region: Mendoza,
Navarra, Spain
Votes: 14,456
Position: 9th
Story:
The oldest three-legged oak in the world
This oak is estimated at an approximate age of 1,200 years,
which almost certainly makes it one of the oldest oaks in all of the Iberian
Peninsula. It is also an emblem for Mendaza's neighbours. Its spectacular shape
with a trunk that is completely hollow on the inside and supported only on
three large legs, makes it very popular and the greatest landmark for all of
the town's inhabitants. Many treat the tree much like a neighbour, making weekly
trips up the mountain to “greet” him and ask questions as he is the oldest
living thing in the town.
Name of tree: The
Jerusalem Tree
Species: Unknown
Age: 2000 years
Region: Glastonbury,
England
Votes: 14,459
Position: 8th
Story:
Blake’s inspiration
William Blake’s poem “Jerusalem”, later turned into a hymn,
is based on the apocryphal story that Jesus travelled to England and visited
Glastonbury during the unknown years.
This is the tree upon which Blake based the first draft of the first
stanza of his poem:
And did those feet in ancient time,
Walk upon England’s mountains green:
And did the holy Lamb of God,
Against a very big tree lean!
This was later changed to:
And did those feet in ancient time,
Walk upon England’s mountains green:
And was the holy Lamb of God,
On England’s pleasant pastures seen!
Nahh, just messing with you, that’s the tree at the front of my house.
Sorry about the quality of the pic, I had to take a pic off the screen from Google street view.
Trees 8 - 1 still to come.
