The Barnim Oak

This oak is what survives of a nineteenth century avenue that once led straight to Miedzyzdroje's parish church, and its old companion on the same planting, an oak called Apostoł, still stands close by on the same street. The tree carries the name of Barnim IX, a Pomeranian duke of the House of Griffins who lived from 1501 to 1573 and patronised art and culture across Western Pomerania. Oak bark from trees like this one has a long history as a folk remedy, ground for its astringent, antiseptic properties and used on frostbite and burns, while its acorns feed the wild boars, jays and dormice that still live on the island of Wolin. Miedzyzdroje designated the tree a natural monument in 2004, when it was judged 180 to 200 years old, putting it past two centuries today. The trunk is 301 centimetres round, the smallest girth among the town's five clustered Kolejowa and Lipowa street oaks, though still a serious size for a species whose growth turns from height to breadth after a century or two. It stands free on the public street, a remnant of the avenue that used to run past it.