Emperor's beech
| Emperor's beech | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Southwest view of the Kaiser's beech the day before it was felled
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| place |
Moers - Schwafheim , Wesel district |
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| country | North Rhine-Westphalia , Germany | ||
| Tree species | Common beech (Fagus sylvatica) | ||
| Height above sea level | 32 m | ||
| Geographical location | 51 ° 25 '29.7 " N , 6 ° 38' 55.2" E | ||
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| Status natural monument | yes (1938–2015) | ||
| Age | unknown; possibly 240-320 years (approx. 2009) ; possibly up to 500 years | ||
| Trunk circumference (waist) | 6.70 m (1997) | ||
| Trunk circumference (1 m height) |
8.03 m (2001) | ||
| Trunk circumference (chest height) |
7.21 m (2002) | ||
| Tree height | 12 m | ||
The Kaisers Buche (original spelling: Keisers-Buche ) was a head red beech in Moerser district Schwafheim . The tree, estimated to be no more than 500 years old, was the symbol of the village and was one of the most significant individual trees and natural monuments in the Wesel district . With a trunk circumference of up to eight meters, it was considered one of the strongest trees in the Rhineland and one of the thickest beeches in Germany .
In August 2015, the emperor had to book despite extensive support measures for acute instability like be.
Description and history
The tree was in the front garden of the property at Heideweg 97a and thus within the Schwafheim residential area . Until after the Second World War it stood in the countryside on meadows and arable land west of the village of Schwafheim. It is a red beech , i.e. a red beech , the crown of which was previously cut back to the trunk in the course of snowing at regular intervals . This is widespread with some tree species in the Lower Rhine , especially with pollard willows , but atypical for red beeches. The Schwafheim beech was originally pruned around every 40 years and the cuttings used as firewood . The resulting thickening on the wound overhangs shaped the extraordinary, characteristic trunk. It is visually reminiscent of a Süntel beech . It is not known when the tree was planted; various sources limit the age to a minimum of 240 and a maximum of 500 years. The tree was named after a bricklayer with the surname Keizer , who probably owned the property with the tree at the beginning of the 20th century.
As early as 1916, the art historian Richard Klapheck described the “strange beech” in his work Die Baukunst am Niederrhein and compared it to a “lonely preacher”. In 1922 the local researcher Hugo Otto from Moers wrote in his book Naturdenkmäler der Heimat am Rhein of the "Keisers-Buche", agreed to the comparison by Klapheck and called the tree a "representative of enormous proportions" at a height of 6.60 meters "Head trees of the industrial district on the left of the Lower Rhine". The name Kaisers Buche , which was used until recently, was derived from this. In 1938 it was placed under protection as a natural monument .
In the second half of the 20th century, the City of Moers Office for Green Spaces took care of the tree. This secured the crown branches with wire ropes and filled tree openings with concrete . Finally, the responsibility for the maintenance of the natural monument was transferred to the Lower Landscape Authority of the Wesel district. Due to the immense crown volume, regular tests of the stability and break resistance were necessary. In 1991, belt straps were attached to the beech tree to secure its crown, and steel girders were installed in the same decade , as the stem head was able to independently bear the weight of the crown to an ever decreasing extent. Another check in 2001 showed that the tree's load-bearing capacity had halved within seven years.
On July 17, 2003, the head red beech was protected under the number ND 15 as a natural monument by the so-called “ indoor area ordinance ” of the Wesel district for reasons of regional history and for reasons of rarity, individuality and beauty . In the local press it was dubbed the “ flagship among the natural monuments in the district”.
Despite further supportive measures against the old age of the emperor's beech, the northern part of its crown broke off in the first half of the 2010s and thus also damaged the trunk. In mid-2015, a new report showed that the trunk had massive hollow spaces and the thickness of the tree wall was only five to ten centimeters in some load-bearing areas. The tree could therefore no longer bear its weight even with the support measures, which is why the Wesel district decided to fell the tree soon. The Kaisers Buche was laid down on August 10th and 11th, 2015.
Picture gallery
- Kaisers Buche on August 9th, 2015 (one day before the felling)
Northwest view
Natural monument plaque on the trunk
Demolition point on the north side, various steel girders and belts
Trunk with characteristic thickenings on the wound overhangs of the former head tree
See also
- List of natural monuments in the Wesel district
- List of the thickest beeches in Germany
- List of prominent and old tree specimens
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f 500 year old "Kaisers Buche" in Moers has to be felled. DerWesten , August 8, 2015, accessed June 17, 2020 .
- ↑ a b Kaiser's book in Schwafheim. AltbaumFinder NRW, January 18, 2013, accessed on June 17, 2020 .
- ↑ Red beech 'Kaisers Buche' in Heidestrasse in Schwafheim, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. MonumentalTrees.com, accessed June 17, 2020 .
- ^ A b Hugo Otto: Natural monuments of the homeland on the Rhine . Mönchengladbach 1922, p. 176 .
- ↑ a b c 500-year-old beech will be felled on Monday: Kaiser's beech cannot be saved. LocalClick. Online newspaper Rhein-Ruhr, August 8, 2015, accessed on June 17, 2020 .
- ↑ a b Annex 1: Ordinance on the protection of natural monuments within the built-up districts and the scope of the development plans in the Wesel district. Wesel district , July 17, 2003, accessed on June 17, 2020 ( PDF ).
- ↑ a b Heinz Kuhlen: Keiser's book in Moers-Schwafheim. Dendroculus-Baumsehen.com, accessed June 17, 2020 .
- ^ A b Richard Klapheck : The architecture on the Lower Rhine . tape 1 . Düsseldorf 1916, p. 12 .
- ↑ Peter Schilke: Herald of the home. unknown work , March 1945, accessed on June 17, 2020 ( PDF ).
- ↑ Markus Plüm: Moers: Kaiser's book is history. Rheinische Post , August 11, 2015, accessed on June 17, 2020 .