Visited:Not photographed
History:The Žeberská lime tree is a unique example of an advanced stage of the tree life cycle. Due to its high age it is considered to be the oldest tree in the Chomutov district. It got its name from the nearby ruins of the Starý Žeberk castle. It grows at the foot of the Ore Mountains on the southern border of the Jezerka National Nature Reserve on the left bank of the Vesnický Brook, about 2.2 km southwest of the Jezeří Castle in the cadastral area of Kundratice u Chomutov. If we leave aside the modern history related to lignite mining, which stopped barely 300 metres from the linden tree (which is also a living symbol of the protests against mining), the story of the tree is usually associated with the nearby defunct castle Starý Žeberk, which was built in the 13th century and disappeared at the end of the 14th century, but even in such a short time, according to legend, an interesting story managed to take place here: A castle lord, whose task was to guard the entrance to the Czech lands, saw a girl on one of his journeys and found a crush on her. He dragged the girl to the castle against her will. She never accepted her departure from home and saw her partner as a cruel master. When he saw that he could not win her love, he threw his partner off the castle walls. Fortunately, the girl fell into the bushes, but was still badly injured. A young peasant from a nearby solitude found her, carried her home, nursed her back to health, and, because he knew that she would be found in his house, hid her in the hollow of an old lime tree. Indeed, this is what happened. The lord of the castle was finally relieved by his action and commissioned a gunsmith. But they searched for her in vain. When the young lady had fully recovered, she and her rescuer decided to leave the countryside to escape the power of the cruel lord and lead a happy and contented life. As late as the middle of the 20th century, the trunk of the linden tree was still standing upright and could be seen splitting into two skeletal branches. Today, only one remains, which is bent to the ground. The trunk of the lime tree has a cavity that has been treated with asphalt to prevent it from leaking. The tree must now be supported in several places. Owls used to nest in the trunk cavity. The lime tree withered in 2020. According to measurements taken in 2010, this tree is 6 m tall, with a trunk circumference of 740 cm and an estimated age of 700 years.
Source:https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%BDeberen%C3%A1_l%C3%ADpa
Photo source:https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%BDeberen%C3%A1_l%C3%ADpa
Impressions:A beautiful lime tree, which unfortunately I didn't photograph due to lack of time, although it seems to have died already.
