Hrušeň v Drahovicích, Wild pear tree in Drahovice, Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic
Hrušeň v Drahovicích is a wild pear (Pyrus pyraster) with a furrowed trunk 366 cm in circumference and a crown reaching 9 m after a 2009 health cut. It grows on a slope below panel buildings in Karlovy Vary-Drahovice, left of a footpath beside a gardeners' colony.
During World War II, bombing in 1944 caused severe burn damage to the tree. Recovery was slow, with the tree finally returning to full vigor in the 1970s.
In 1945 Czech nationalists raised a flag on the tree, and that same year two Sudeten Germans were killed beneath it. In the 1960s celebrations and birthdays were held under its branches. When a branch broke in 1969 and the tree was slated for felling, residents' protests saved it.
The pear stands on sloping ground below panel buildings in Drahovice, to the left of a footpath that meets a local road running along an allotment colony. It is reached on foot from the surrounding housing estate; no dedicated visitor facilities are at the tree.
Scientists estimate this wild pear tree to be between 250 and 280 years old. This places it among the oldest fruit trees in the entire region.
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