The Black Poplar of the Prater

When Vienna made this black poplar a natural monument in 2004, its crown measured about 36 metres across, very nearly as wide as the tree is tall. The height was about 40 metres, on a trunk 5.7 metres round. The register entry, Naturdenkmal 790, put its age at no less than 100 years at the time of designation. That number was a floor, not a count of rings, so the honest statement is that it is well over a century old now and nobody has said by how much. Every figure here dates from 2004; the tree has had more than twenty years since to add to them. Those measurements matter more for this species than for most. Black poplars grow fast and live short lives by the standards of the oaks and limes elsewhere in Vienna, so a poplar that reached monument size in the Prater has already outlasted most of its kind. The Prater is a public recreation area, free and open at all hours, so there is no gate between you and it. One honest warning. The most recent photographs we can find are three views from May 2014, and we have no newer sighting that confirms it still stands. If you walk out to it, tell us whether it is there; a photograph would settle the question for everyone after you. The pin is approximate, taken from the city's register point rather than fixed at the trunk, so give yourself a little searching time on arrival.