Ieper chestnut that survived two wars in ‘Tree of the Year’
A chestnut tree standing at the Menin Gate in Ieper (West Flanders) has been selected as Belgium’s “Tree of the Year 2020”. The title is awarded to a special tree that has brought people and nature closer together.
The four-trunk chestnut is known as a survivor. It was planted in 1860, long before the construction of the Menin Gate, a monument to British and Commonwealth soldiers of the Great War with no known grave. “The tree received quite a battering during the conflict” says Lieven Stubbe of the local green spaces department “But its root structure fortunately survived the war and it grew again as a four-trunk tree. It also survived the Second World War, when the people of Ieper cut down many trees. They were cold and needed wood to burn in their stoves.”
The people of Ieper are particularly proud of their new honour. Alderman Valentijn Despeghel: “Honestly, I knew we were in with a chance from the start. The chestnut is a monument, but it also exudes symbolic power. The four-trunk tree illustrates Ieper’s power to survive. It’s a living and especially vital monument that with a bit of luck can live for a further century.”
