The Polish tree won the title of the European Tree of the Year 2025. The beech bearing the name of the heart of the Dalkowskie Hills is 300 years old and grows in a historic park at the palace in Dustków in Lower Silesia. According to local legends, he can even make his dreams come true.
The common heart of the Dalkowskie Hills became the European Tree of 2025 on Wednesday. The Polish plant dominated the competition, winning nearly 150,000 votes of Internet users. In second place with over 43,000 votes was the Portuguese forever green large figure. The third place was taken by 400-year-old Pinia pine from Spain, receiving nearly 37,000 votes of Internet users.
A tree that fulfills dreams
The heart of the Dalkowskie Hills is a monumental 300-year-old beech of a purple variety (Fagus sylvatica 'Atropunice'). It grows in a historic park at the 16th century palace in Dustków in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. As Anna Gomułka, president of the Family for Family Foundation and Revitalization of the Polish countryside in Drustków, said, which submitted a tree to the competition, his name is not accidental.
– First of all, it grows in the central part of the Dalkowskie Hills, secondly, its leaves take on red in spring, i.e. a symbolic color of the heart. Third, the most important, unites people under its branches. Concerts, reading meetings, workshops and services take place here. Tourists, thinking about their own dreams, throw beech shells into the hole in the tree, because there is a legend that the tree fulfills his dreams – she said.
Beech Heart of the Dalkowskie HillsPhoto. Marcin Kopij
Another victory in a row
The awarding ceremony of the European Tree Awards took place on March 19 in Brussels, in the European Parliament. This year, the 15 most interesting trees from all over Europe took part in the plebiscite, which won in national competitions. They all combine unusual stories and the fact that they are an important part of the local community.
Polish trees have been winning in this annual European competition for the fourth time in a row, which aims to draw attention to interesting, old trees as important elements of natural and cultural heritage that we should protect. In 2022, the winner was the 400 -year -old Dunin Oak – Guardian of the Białowieża Forest in Ubudki in the province. Podlasie, in 2023, the title of the European Tree of the Year was awarded to the 180-year-old factory factory with Boat. Last year, the winner was the beech of the heart of the Garden with the Arboretum in Wojsławice.
Source of the main photo: Photo. Marcin Kopij