Kongeegen

Kongeegen ( German the king oak) is an oak, which applies with an age 1400-2000 years, not only as the oldest tree in Denmark, but probably is the oldest oak in Europe. The only existing of some residues Oak is located in the nature reserve Jaegerspris Nordskov, which lies between the North Zealand Jaegerspris city and the village Kulhuse on the Hornsherred Peninsula.

Owner of the Kongeegen is the foundation Kong Frederik syvendes stiftelse paa Jaegerspris who names himself after Frederick VII. The Danish king made ​​an appointment with his rides on the oak with the countess of Danner and helped the tree so the name "King Oak ". Was first described in 1813 by the Danish historian Christian Kongeegen Molbech ( 1783-1857 ). At the time the tree was already eroded such that three adult people found place in his heart.

The tribe's scope of currently ten to eleven meters in 1965 was still about 14 meters. In the same year a height of 17 meters and a diameter of 4.45 meters was measured.

Around the year 1600 the tree was rotten from the inside already. And there he stands on damp, inaccessible terrain, from which wood was hard to removed, the oak was spared of major felling despite their huge size. After 1973, the last large branch broke off, the leguminous tree trunk collapsed in half. To limit the damage since helped individual plugs which successfully encouraged the preservation of the oak.