Kamenická lípa, Solitary tree in Kamenice nad Lipou Castle Park, Czech Republic.
The Kamenická lípa is a large-leaved linden in the castle park, now a hollow stump about four meters tall with four roughly twenty-meter branches. Its original trunk is a cavity filled with thick adventitious roots that stabilize the tree, and the branches are held by numerous supports.
Tradition dates the planting of this large-leaved linden to the 13th century, with 1225, 1248 and 1267 given as possible years. In 1583 the castle garden layout was subordinated to the tree. A lightning strike on 4 August 1824 destroyed the crown, leaving a hollow stump about four metres high.
The linden tree is so important that the town of Kamenice nad Lipou takes its name from this very tree, with 'nad Lipou' meaning 'above the linden'. The name binds the place permanently to this natural landmark.
The linden stands below the terrace of the castle park, which has been open to the public since 2004. Its four roughly 20-metre branches are held up by a series of props, and specialists treat the tree every 2–3 years, most recently in July–August 2011.
A descendant of this historic tree was planted on the town's main square in 1919 to honor freedom after World War I. This newer tree stands as a green monument to the hopes of that era.
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