The Wych Elm of Demmeringstrasse

Dutch elm disease has been killing Europe's elms since the last century, wych elms among them, which is why a living, protected one in a Lindenau street is worth the detour. Leipzig lists it as natural monument number 6, on the plot at Demmeringstrasse 77, under council resolution 601/96. The register gives it 14 metres and nothing else: no girth, no age, no reason recorded beyond the designation itself. So we will not invent one. How old it is, and whether it was already standing when the epidemic swept through, nobody has published. If you know, tell us. What we can say is that it is alive. It was photographed in full leaf in May 2017, and an observation was logged at the spot in August 2025. Wych elms are the elms of hillsides and riverbanks, and they are easy to tell apart once you have handled a leaf: big, rough as fine sandpaper on top, lopsided where it meets the stalk, and sometimes ending in a few extra points. In early spring, before the leaves, the twigs carry clusters of flat, papery seeds. It is also the third tree on a short walk. The Oak of Demmeringstrasse, its crown hanging over a brick wall, and the Oak of Karl-Ferlemann-Strasse both stand about 200 metres away. The pin is the register's point and has not been checked on aerial imagery. The elm may stand behind a fence, so look from the street.