Description of the attraction
Not far from the Austrian community of Bad Blumau is the so-called Millennium Oak - the oldest tree in Europe, which has received the status of a natural monument of national importance. You can find it in the district of Fürstenfeld on the so-called "oak path" between the villages of Loimet and Birbaum an der Saphen.
The giant oak reaches 30 meters in height, the trunk diameter is 2.5 meters, and the girth is 8, 75 meters. It will take 7 adults to hug such a giant. The crown of a thousand-year-old oak tree is no less majestic, its diameter exceeds 50 meters.
Since ancient times, the place near such a remarkable tree has been used for various kinds of meetings, gatherings, and also as a dance floor. In the seventies of the XX century, an extraordinary thunderstorm broke out on the outskirts of Bad Blumau, which caused a real tragedy. Lightning struck the immense trunk and nearly destroyed an ancient tree. People came to the aid of the giant. The four-meter wound was filled with concrete and the oak survived. Later it turned out that this measure turned more to harm than good. The water flowing down the concrete inside the oak, accumulating, led to the fact that the trunk began to rot.
The wife of a successful German entrepreneur, Heidi Horten, became interested in the fate of the millennial oak tree. It was she who sponsored the renovation of the tree, which took more than 1000 hours to complete. The "tree surgeon" brought in for this purpose removed the rotten core with compressed air and laid a water drainage system, thanks to which the oak recovered and, as everyone in the area hopes, will live for a long time.
