The Lombardy Poplar of Franz-Josefs-Bahnhof

Lombardy poplars are not supposed to get old. They grow fast, stand tall and narrow, and are known as a short-lived tree. The one in front of Franz-Josefs-Bahnhof was planted in 1892, according to the city's tree cadastre, which makes it roughly 130 years old and a genuine veteran of its kind. It was not always alone. Vienna protected the poplars here as Natural Monument 644, and the monument list describes the group in the past tense: it consisted of three trees, and lastly of two. Today the register keeps a single point, and the cadastre a single Lombardy poplar standing exactly on it, 3.08 metres round and in the 16 to 20 metre height class. The reason given for protecting them is unusual, and it explains why this tree matters more than its size suggests. The list cites the poplars' place in surroundings with almost no vegetation and their part in the look of the townscape. That is a legal order written not for a giant but for a landmark: a column of green on a paved square, in front of a railway station, where very little else grows. So this is a tree to collect on the way somewhere. Trams stop on Julius-Tandler-Platz, two minutes away, and the station is right behind it. Look up before you go in.