Archfelder Dorflinden, Natural monument with two linden trees in Herleshausen, Germany.

The Archfelder Dorflinden are two linden trees on the walled village green in front of the Johanneskirche in Archfeld, part of Herleshausen. One tree has a broad, flat crown trained over a support frame; the other once carried a neck iron. The green lies on the northern side of the church.

The planting date is unknown; Thomas Wiegand suggests around 1567, when the church nave was built, or possibly around 1657 after the church was restored following the Thirty Years' War. A 1984 book estimates the trees at 300 to 400 years old. Archfeld long belonged to Fulda Abbey, and in the 16th century the Treusch von Buttlar family held the low and high jurisdiction.

The square where these trees stand was once used for court hearings and community gatherings, with one tree specifically serving as a shelter for judicial proceedings. The carefully shaped branches created a natural roof that made the space functional for public meetings and local decision-making.

The two lindens stand on the walled village green just outside the churchyard wall, on the northern side of the Johanneskirche at the highest point of Archfeld. The green is reached on foot from the village lanes; the trees are natural monuments and the square is a protected monument, so visitors should stay on the open ground and leave the trunks and roots undisturbed.

The right linden tree was specially trained to grow horizontal branches stretched over a support structure, creating shelter for court sessions from rain and sun. This clever adaptation of natural growth shows how villagers creatively shaped the trees to serve practical needs.