Stelmužė Oak

The Stelmužė oak stands in a small village near the Latvian border, a vast hollow trunk around thirteen metres in girth and some twenty-three metres high, propped and braced, with the crown much reduced by centuries of decay and storm damage. Its age is usually given as fifteen hundred years or more, which would make it one of the oldest oaks in Europe, though such figures for hollow trees are estimates rather than measurements and lower ages have been argued. Whatever the number, it is very old and very large. It is fenced to protect the roots, with a viewing area, and a wooden church of 1650 stands nearby with carved figures inside. The village is tiny and there is nothing else.

What you actually see

• The hollow trunk - thirteen metres round, braced and propped.
• The reduced crown - the remains of the canopy after centuries of loss.
• The wooden church - the 1650 building with carved figures nearby.
• The village setting - a tiny settlement close to the border.

When to go

May to October when the tree is in leaf and the village accessible; the structure of the trunk is clearer in winter with the leaves off. The site is open at all times.

Honest expectations

The tree is fenced and cannot be approached closely, which is right but limits the experience. The age figure is an estimate and often repeated uncritically. The village has no facilities. It is a twenty-minute stop after a long drive.

Nearby

Zarasai lies south; the Latvian border is immediately north.