This lime was planted to celebrate a constitution, and it has outlived the kingdom that wrote it. On 20 May 1808 the citizens of Grünwald set it into their market square to mark King Max Joseph's new constitution for the Kingdom of Bavaria. A plaque on the trunk still records the gift. That gives it something rare among old trees: a birthday. Most trees on this map carry an estimate or a range. This one has a date, which makes it about 218 years old in 2026, and the arithmetic is the whole argument. It stands in the open where Grünwald's two main streets cross, a large-leaved lime with the town's traffic turning around it. Bavaria protects it twice over, as a natural monument and on the same footing as a listed building, an unusual honour for something that grows. In the two centuries since, the constitution it was planted for was replaced and the Bavarian monarchy ended in 1918. The lime stayed where the citizens put it, on the square, with its plaque. Nobody has published its girth or its height. If you pass with a tape measure, tell us what you find. Grünwald lies about 12 km south of central Munich, so this is a suburban trip rather than a city stroll: tram 25 runs out from the centre, and the Marktplatz is a few minutes on foot from the stop.
scented pale yellow flowers in June, early for a lime and loud with beesFruityellow-green to yellow
June, when the lime flowers over the square and the scent carries
The line is our estimate of how much there is to see, not a measurement. Typical for this species where this tree stands; exact weeks shift with the year.
Marktplatz, 82031 Grünwald You can recognise it by the memorial plaque on its trunk recalling the Bavarian constitution of 1808. It stands alone in the open Marktplatz, where Grünwald's two main streets cross.
Free, on the public Marktplatz of Grünwald at the junction of the two main streets; always visible from the pavement.
Grünwald is outside Munich city; tram 25 runs from central Munich to Grünwald. Walk from the stop to the Marktplatz not measured (a few minutes); travel time from the centre roughly 35 to 45 minutes, not verified.
Sources
Where the facts on this page come from.
