Global InformationFemeiche information
51°44′43.7″N 6°51′43.4″E / 51.745472°N 6.862056°E
The Femeiche, formerly known as Rabenseiche, Ravenseiche, or Erler Eiche, located in Erle within the North Rhine-Westphalian district of Borken, is one of Germany's oldest oaks, estimated to be between 600 and 850 years old.[1] This English oak (Quercus robur) stands near the parish church.
Feme courts were held beneath this oak until the 16th century, making it the oldest and most renowned court tree in Central Europe.[2] For more than a century, this oak tree has been designated a natural monument due to its age,[3] lightning strikes, storms, and human impact. The trunk has been hollow for about 250 years and consists only of sapwood.[4] The trunk shell, supported by poles, encompasses a hollow space with an almost three-meter diameter.[1]
- ^ a b Stefan Kühn; Bernd Ullrich; Uwe Kühn (2007). Deutschlands alte Bäume. BLV Verlagsgesellschaft, München 2007. p. 37. ISBN 978-3-8354-0183-9.
- ^ Uwe Kühn; Stefan Kühn; Bernd Ullrich. Bäume, die Geschichten erzählen. BLV Buchverlag GmbH & Co. KG, München 2005. p. 20. ISBN 3-405-16767-1.
- ^ Anette Lenzing. Gerichtslinden und Thingplätze in Deutschland. Karl Robert Langewiesche Nachfolger, Heiligenhaus 2005. p. 113. ISBN 3-7845-4520-3.
- ^ Gerd Buskamp. "Erle: Erinnerungen unter der Femeiche – Kindheitsgeschichten".