Napoleonsbuche Gahmen, Nature monument in Gahmen, Lünen, Germany

Napoleonsbuche Gahmen is a protected European beech (Fagus sylvatica) with two trunks that merge at a height of three metres. The tree stands 18 metres tall with a crown about 14 metres across. In 2025 the trunks measured 4.07 and 3.44 metres in girth at breast height. It grows in the open near a wind turbine in the Gahmen district of Lünen.

The beech was probably planted in the 1810s and was declared a natural monument in 1935. It stands beside the line of a former Landwehr, a defensive barrier of ditches and an embankment planted with thorny shrubs and trees whose branches were woven into an impenetrable thicket. When the Landwehr was abandoned in the 19th century, gaps opened and the trees grew tall, producing the fused double trunk.

Local legend holds that Napoleon Bonaparte rested beneath this tree during his retreat from Russia in 1812. The story remains deeply embedded in how locals view and speak about the place today.

Access to the tree requires crossing agricultural fields, with conditions varying by harvest season and weather. Dry periods can make paths difficult to walk, while rain and snow also affect how easily you can reach the site.

From 2018 to 2020, during severe drought years, the Unna district implemented special watering programs to protect this roughly 210-year-old beech from drying out. These rescue efforts show how much the community values the tree and actively cares for it.