They are shade and sometimes comfort donors. Privacy screen, hiding place, playground equipment. Without trees, cities and life would be gray. In May, the Bund Naturschutz asked which trees mean a lot to the people of Grafing and called on citizens to send in pictures of their most beautiful trees, the most beautiful tree stories, drawings or photos of their favorite places under a tree. The most beautiful contributions are now on display in a small exhibition, which opened in the city library on Thursday and attracted a great deal of participation.
The oak at the Seeschneider crossing almost didn’t survive a road construction.
(Photo: Otto Hartl/oh)
Of course, the most famous tree in Grafing is also part of the party: the oak at the Seeschneider crossing. It is 300 years old, but then it got in the way of a road expansion and should be felled. After violent protests from the population, the district rescheduled – the road now leads in a gentle curve around the old oak tree.
But there are also many hidden treasures to be admired in the exhibition, such as the 300-year-old lime tree by Josefine Pfeifer from Eisendorf. “With her mighty waist circumference of 4.50 meters and her lush crown of flowers, she is truly an imposing figure. And everyone who settles under her protection feels protected and safe. Farm dog Rudi listens spellbound to the buzzing and humming in the branches”, she wrote to her photo.
Imposing appearance: the 300-year-old linden tree with the farm dog Rudi.
(Photo: Josefine Pfeifer/oh)
For Manuela Pfaller and her three sons, it is the most beautiful tree she knows, an oak tree on the cycle path between Grafing train station and Grafing: “For our three sons it was and is always the ideal stopover for climbing on their way to kindergarten. For eight now years we have been able to visit the beautiful oak regularly.”
Umbrella, protection, swing: The walnut tree in Brigitte Binder’s garden.
(Photo: Brigitte Binder/oh)
Brigitte Binder’s favorite tree is a walnut tree which, as she knows, “was planted by the previous owners in 1939 as a beacon of hope”. Today the crown with a diameter of 26 meters shields your garden. “It offers children a place to swing, squirrels an inexhaustible source of food, many different birds hiding places, my guests and my family a wonderful natural shade in summer. If it rains, it stays dry under this tree for half an hour. During the Advent season it offers me ready a stage for my beloved Christmas decorations. My beautiful house tree accompanies me throughout the year and is indispensable in my garden,” Binder writes about her photo.
Anyone interested in these and other Grafinger tree stories has the opportunity to visit the exhibition until November 7th. It can be viewed during normal library opening hours.