What is the oldest tree in Nijmegen?

Sterrenbos, the star-shaped pattern of forest avenues at the heart of Park Brakkenstein, was laid out in the 18th century as part of the private Brakkenstein estate, first documented in 1654 though the star planting itself came later. A circle of beeches planted as part of that scheme survives today, and local historians researching Nijmegen's tree stock have identified it as the oldest living tree group within the city's limits, estimated at 250 to 300 years old. That estimate is necessarily a range: no single tree in the ring has been individually dated by ring count, and some of the original beeches have already died of old age over three centuries, leaving visible gaps in what was once a complete circle. What survives is still remarkable for surviving at all, three centuries after the estate that planted it was still private land and roughly a century before Nijmegen's oldest formal parks, Kronenburgerpark and Valkhofpark, existed as public space. The park is free and open today, in the south of the city between Radboud University's campus and a rail line, no ticket or special access required to see what is left of the star.