The Mark Oak of Offenbach

Nobody seems to have planted this oak. Offenbach's register of natural monuments says it was probably sown by animals, and what came up has six stems rather than one trunk. A local tree photographer calls it the most powerful tree in Offenbach. In 1979 the Offenbach natural history society measured it at seven metres round just above the roots, the whole buttressed mass of stems taken together. The three strongest are about four, three and three metres round each, and the register gives the height as about 23 metres. The name comes from the field it stands in, Die Mark. It has had a hard time. The Hainbach once ran seven metres from it, until the brook was channelled, which by the photographer's account did the tree and its surroundings no good. The main trunk is hollow at ground level, a big limb has been taken off, and the thick stems are held together with strong straps. A high fence keeps everyone at a distance. Even so, a walker in 2017 found the crown healthy and full of vigour, and a photograph from May 2018 shows it standing. One blog dates it to 1880 without saying why, so we leave its age open. If you know how old it is, or have seen it lately, tell us. It stands a little west of the Hainbach footpath, about 170 metres north of the Stadthalle, where a post on the Regionalpark route points it out.