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Registered Charity
1071012
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Protected ancient trees in West Stara
Planina |
Click on the picture above to enlarge |
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Valentin Yanchelov, Balkan Sports Club,
Belogradchik, Bulgaria
Ancient trees are the living history of nature, a real treasure worthy of
preservation. The Balkan Sports Club in Belogradchik implemented a project
aiming to preserve ancient trees in Belogradchik, Chuprene, Chiprovtzi and
Berkovitza. Project activities included sanitising damaged trees, posting
updated signs with information on the species, dimensions and age of each
tree, and distributing brochures and maps of the 27 protected trees in the
area. The project was financed as part of the transboundary project “West
Stara Planina” of the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern
Europe, financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.
Ancient trees are usually lonely remnants of magnificent forests. Mute
witnesses of historic events, they are the focus of many legends and
beliefs. Throughout human history, ancient trees have been highly esteemed
or even worshipped. The sacred tree, often a symbol of godly life, was
depicted in the oldest Egyptian and Assyrian monuments.
In Bulgaria these traditions were reflected in the sacrificial rituals and
the posting of crosses connected to the patron saint of a given area. This
ancient tradition is extremely popular in Northwest Bulgaria and is called
obrok or podkrust. Obroks are made in the fields, outside of villages, and
always under a huge, old tree, usually oak, elm, lime or wallnut. Any tree
over an obrok is considered sacred and should not be cut.
Ancient trees are the keepers of many secrets. The science of
dendrochronology examines tree rings to determine ancient climatic and
ecological conditions. The rings provide centuries of information on wet and
dry years, natural disasters, insect invasions, and more. Ancient trees are
not only important environmentally, but also culturally and historically |
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