The Bażyński Oak is an

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

tree and

natural monument A natural monument is a natural or natural/cultural feature of outstanding or unique value because of its inherent rarity, representative of aesthetic qualities or cultural significance. Under World Commission on Protected Areas guidelines, nat ...

in Poland. It is one of the oldest trees in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, whose age is estimated at around 716 years according to dendrochronological research.Cezary Pacyniak. ''Najstarsze drzewa w Polsce''. PTTK Kraj. 1992. It grows in the town of

Kadyny Kadyny (german: Cadinen) is a village of Gmina Tolkmicko, within Elbląg County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. Geography It is situated in the Elbląg Upland Landscape Park, a protected area on a terminal moraine stretching ...

on the

Vistula Lagoon The Vistula Lagoon ( pl, Zalew Wiślany; russian: Калининградский залив, transliterated: ''Kaliningradskiy Zaliv''; german: Frisches Haff; lt, Aistmarės) is a brackish water lagoon on the Baltic Sea roughly 56 miles (90 ...

.Krzysztof Borkowski, Robert Tomusiak, Paweł Zarzyński. ''Drzewa Polski''. PWN. 2016. The circumference of the tree is 10.03 metres and its height is 21 metres. The crown spread is 14 by 21.5 m. The Bażyński Oak's circumference near the ground is exceptional – around 15 metres.Robert Tomusiak, Paweł Zarzyński. ''90 drzew. Okazy niezwykłe''. Centrum Informacyjne Lasów Państwowych. 2014. It is named after

Jan Bażyński Hans von Baysen or Jan Bażyński ( 1394 – 1459) was a Prussian knight and statesman, leader of the Prussian Confederation and the first Polish governor of Royal Prussia. Biography The Baysen family was part of a larger Flemish family which came ...

(also known as Johannes von Baysen), a former owner of

and one of the founders of the

Prussian Confederation The Prussian Confederation (german: Preußischer Bund, pl, Związek Pruski) was an organization formed on 21 February 1440 at Kwidzyn (then officially ''Marienwerder'') by a group of 53 nobles and clergy and 19 cities in Prussia, to oppose the a ...

. In 1880 the oak's trunk was 8.64 metres thick and the radius of its crown was 13 metres; at the time its large hollow was fitted with a wooden door and a guard was posted to protect it. One of the owners of

, Artur Brikner, claimed that eleven soldiers could stay in the hollow trunk. What is more, in the first years of the 20th century, the trunk was part of the brew (

beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...

) pub and the

currency exchange A bureau de change (plural bureaux de change, both ) (British English) or currency exchange (American English) is a business where people can exchange one currency for another. Nomenclature Although originally French, the term "bureau de chang ...

. The area around the Bażyński Oak also includes six other old oaks which are also on the registry of Polish national monuments.Mazury Trave
Nature Monuments
, last accessed August 22, 2010

See also

References

Further reading