Eiche von Zsennye, Fallen pedunculate oak in Zsennye, Hungary
The Oak of Zsennye was a pedunculate oak standing about 1,500 metres east of the village centre, on a silted-up branch of the Rába in the former floodplain forest, alongside seven other old oaks. Its trunk was hollow, with a cavity large enough for fourteen children, and two heavy limbs were joined with an iron clamp. A storm destroyed it in spring 2006.
The oak was among Hungary's oldest trees and stood during the reign of King Stephen. It was legally protected as a natural monument starting in 1958 until its eventual destruction.
The oak is known as the "thousand-year-old oak", a name tied to the belief that it may already have lived in the time of King Stephen, although its exact age was never determined. Its image appears on a Pro Natura commemorative medal.
The location is in a low-lying wet area that can be difficult to access during rainy weather. Visitors should know that some young trees have been grown from acorns of the original oak and may be replanted elsewhere.
The Pro Natura memorial medal bears the image of the thousand-year-old oak, as the tree is known in Hungarian tradition. The Őrség National Park staff also grew three saplings from its acorns, one of which was probably planted beside the ruined stump.
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