Romanian fir tree, nominated for European Tree of the Year title

A silver fir (Abies Alba) in central Romania's Sibiu county has been nominated for the title of European Tree of the Year, a competition aimed at finding the trees with the most interesting stories.

The tree is named the Guardian of Cibin and is believed to be around 500 years old. The tree is said to have supported a shepherd in finding his lost sheep.

According to the story of the tree, a shepherd who had 10 sheep sheltered the animals under the crown of the fir tree on a stormy day. He fell asleep and, upon waking up, found that the sheep were gone. He prayed to find the lost animals and, after falling asleep, dreamed that the fir had grown very high and thick. His dream came true and he climbed up the tree from where he could locate his sheep.

Voting for the European Tree of the Year 2020 opens on February 1, here.

The list of finalists includes trees from Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, The Netherlands, France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Spain, and United Kingdom.

The competition had its first edition in 2011. That year, a 500-year-old lime tree from the village of Leliceni, in Romania, was named the European Tree of the Year.

(Photo: Paul Bordas/treeoftheyear.org)