Tree of the Year

🌳 Meet the 12 finalists of European Tree of the Year 2026! 🌳 This year’s finalists are true symbols of nature’s beauty, history, and community spirit. Let’s celebrate them together! Below, you’ll find all 12 incredible trees. #ety2026 #treeoftheyear

If you’d like to support this initiative and help us celebrate and protect Europe’s remarkable trees, you can contribute at treeoftheyear.org/donate. Every bit helps! 🌍💚

Trees play an essential role in our lives—they clean the air, connect communities, and inspire us. Their stories remind us why nature matters. Explore them all at our website.

🌳 Meet the 12 finalists of European Tree of the Year 2026! 🌳 This year’s finalists are true symbols of nature’s beauty, history, and community spirit. Let’s celebrate them together! Below, you’ll find all 12 incredible trees. #ety2026 #treeoftheyear

🌳 Kostrena Oak Tree — Croatia This oak tree watches over Kvarner bay whispering the tale of its 250 years – of rulers and people long gone, generations of sailors and families written in its core. This proud guardian still keeps vigil by the school door.

🌿 Oak of Prince Ulrich - Czechia This oak is among the oldest trees in the Czech Republic, said to be 1,000 years old. Now a protected heritage tree, it has survived two separate fires, in 1993 and 1995 and continues to watch over the children of the nearby forest kindergarten.

🍂 Oak of Laukiai -- LITHUANIA The Oak of Laukiai once stood almost forgotten, known only to the people of the small Rukai village. But a year ago, the community restored its surroundings and organised a celebration in its honour.

🌿 Sophora from Prymorsky park - UKRAINE A living legend of Chornomorsk, is a symbol of resilience and power of life. It not only provides oxygen - it gives a sense of home, stability and connection between generations. Every leaf on this tree is a memory.

🍁 Cedro de Runa – Portugal Planted in the early 1950s by Mr. Alfredo, the Cedar Tree of the Church of Runa, now about 75 years old, is an essential part of local history and identity. Initially fragile, it was carefully protected by its planter, surviving against all odds.

🌳 Tree of Memories - HUNGARY For more than 150 years, I have guarded the stories of the Gerla manor. In my shade a count once told tales to his grandchild; children played, loves were born, dreams took shape. I have watched generations grow, heard laughter and silence.

🌿Crooked Tree - POLAND Rises above the moat on an island near the former castle of the Szydłowiecki and Radziwiłł families. Its unique shape comes from its location, forcing it to lean toward the water. For years it was a witness to friendly meetings and youthful romances.

🍂 Argyle Street Ash - UK Rising from the heart of a dense city street, Glasgow’s Argyle Street ash is around 170 years old and 25 metres tall. It has endured industrialisation, wartime bombing, urban redevelopment and now ash dieback disease - yet it continues to live.

Every year, people gather beneath its crown for Bolkowanie — the oak’s own festival. In 2016, Bolko represented Poland in the European Tree of the Year, finishing 4th with 23,313 votes. Some trees grow old. Others grow into places where history, care and community meet. 🌳

Time has not spared the tree. Bolko has been damaged by beavers, affected by fungi, and weakened by dead limbs. Over the last decade, it has undergone extensive care: supports added, cavities secured, branches stabilised — so it can keep standing.

Can a tree carry a king’s memory? In eastern Poland, in the village of Hniszów, grows the Oak of Bolko — one of the largest oaks in the country, rooted in both legend and landscape. 📸 Tomek Pikula #ETYLegends #TreeOfTheYear #Poland #Bolkowanie

Local tradition says that in 1018, Bolesław Chrobry — the first King of Poland — rested beneath this oak while marching towards Kyiv. If true, the tree would already have been large enough to offer shade to a king. Legend speaks boldly. Science, more cautiously.