French oak (Bad Arolsen)
The French oak is a free-standing oak in the Long Forest between Bad Arolsen and Twist valley , which is located in the northern Hessian district of Waldeck-Frankenberg .
Geographical location
The municipal boundaries of the localities Landau , Braunsen and Volkhardinghausen (all Bad Arolsen) and Elleringhausen (Twist valley) meet at the French oak . It is located near Kreisstraße 9 between Elleringhausen, 2.4 km away, in the west-south-west and the nearby Volkhardinghausen in the east-south-east, not far from the "forest smithy" located on the ridge of the Long Forest. The oak stands at around 375 m above sea level, just under 400 m north of the road leading from there to the north, along which the "ER 13" cycle path (Edersee circular cycle path; connects the Edersee reservoirs in the south and Twistesee in the north) leads . NN .
history
The original "French oak " was a large oak . It stood on the edge of a plain used as arable land that slopes down into the valley, and its size and individual position served as a signpost or orientation point that could be seen from afar . There are no specific indications of the origin of the name. Oral tradition says that the name originated during the Seven Years' War , when French troops were encamped in Landau during the war from 1760 to 1762.
In the Middle Ages, paths between neighboring places converged on the French oak . The inhabitants of Braunsen had to pass here until 1498 if they wanted to come to the parish church responsible for them in Volkhardinghausen. From 1498 the parish church was in Elleringhausen, and the shortest route from Braunsen to it also led past the French oak.
For centuries, the tree was also used as a dance tree between the four locations on special festive days, just like a dancing linden tree into which boards were placed as a dance floor or for the musicians. The original French oak has now died. There are no remains of it. According to an article in the Waldeckische Landeszeitung dated March 2, 1925, the imposing stump of the original French oak, which was 11 meters in circumference "at man's height" , was still standing .
Today there is a new oak near the original location. Originally this tree grew in a clearing, which is now surrounded by coniferous forest to the northwest of the tree. There is nothing left of the old oak today.
Today's meaning
A small festival has been held at the French oak every other year since 1996, alternately organized by associations from the surrounding towns. A festival service at the oak is also celebrated alternately between the adjacent parishes. It is also a popular hiking destination.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Parish archive Parish Landau (Bad Arolsen); Memorial plaque on the French oak
- ^ Wetekam: Landau , 1964; and: Neumann Gerhard: Church and society in the county of Waldeck at the end of the Middle Ages , Bad Arolsen 2001; Waldeck Research, Volume 11
- ↑ Waldeckische Landeszeitung of March 2, 1925, article: "The French oak near Volkhardinghausen"
Coordinates: 51 ° 19 ′ 43.7 " N , 9 ° 2 ′ 26.8" E