Downy oak of Bátaszék European Tree of the Year

Budapest, April 21 (MTI) – The oldest tree of southern Hungary’s Bátaszék, a downy oak, has won the 2016 European Tree of the Year contest.

The tree won the title with 72,653 votes ahead of 14 entries from another 14 countries, the EC-supported Environmental Partnership Association (EPA) said in a statement in Brussels on Wednesday evening.

The oak of Bátaszék survived as a memory of a forest from the 18th century and the chapel built behind it. The tree and the chapel guard the town and its people who also found protection here during a flood in 1956. According to local tradition, the trunk of the oak has to be sprinkled with wine in order to ensure next year’s rich grape harvest, EPA said on its website. Locals will celebrate the title on May 25.

The European Tree of the Year contest is held annually since 2002 to highlight the significance of old trees that need preservation.

President Áder visited Bátaszék on Márch, 2016

Photo: balkonada.cafeblog.hu

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters