The Philologists' Birch of Sarbievijaus Courtyard

age unknownBirchpin approximate

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Which one is it? In the Sarbievijaus courtyard of the university's central buildings, the second-largest of the complex, marked by a memorial plaque to the poet Sarbievijus on the western wall and a small fountain.

Every spring for decades, this birch had a festival named after it, more or less. Poezijos pavasaris, Lithuania's national Poetry Spring festival, closed its evenings under this tree until 2021, when the readings moved to the Town Hall. Vilnius University still calls it locally the Poezijos pavasario beržas, the Poetry Spring Birch, and its own page for the courtyard says the verses of famous poets have echoed under its crown for many years and will keep doing so. The courtyard itself has a name and a face: M. K. Sarbievijaus kiemas, after Motiejus Kazimieras Sarbievijus, the 17th century Jesuit poet the university still calls its own Horace, whose memorial plaque hangs on the western wall beside a small fountain. The birch stands a few steps from three other protected trees in the same complex of university courtyards, an oak, a linden and an ash, none of them dated either. Vilnius has listed it as a natural heritage object since 1996, the same year as its neighbours, and given it a name, Filologų beržas, the Philologists' Birch, rather than a description. Nobody has recorded which birch this actually is, down to species, or how old it has grown. If you know either, tell us.

Been here? Worth the visit?

The button above opens directions in your maps app. Short walk (5-10 min) from Cathedral Square

The pin marks the right spot roughly, not the tree itself. It stands here, but we have not confirmed the precise position on the ground yet. Know exactly where it is?

Species
Birch (Betula sp.)
Age estimate
Location
M. K. Sarbievijaus kiemas (Sarbievijaus Courtyard), Vilnius University central buildings, Old Town (Old Town / Vilnius University)
Access
Free, inside a Vilnius University courtyard open to the public during the day
Getting there
Short walk (5-10 min) from Cathedral Square

Trees nearby

The Linden of Daukša Courtyard · 40 m awayThe Daukantas Memorial Oakroughly 45-50 years · 50 m awayThe Ash of Mickiewicz's Courtyard · 90 m away
Curious what else is standing in Vilnius? See all 11 remarkable ancient trees in Vilnius or find out what the oldest tree in Vilnius is.
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This page was researched from a distance. If you know this tree, you know things we do not: the species, the age, the size, whether the photo shows the right tree, or that it is gone. Every field on this page can be corrected.

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