Bażyński Oak in Kadyny

The Bażyński Oak in Kadyny is one of the oldest and thickest trees in Poland – a pedunculate oak whose age dendrochronological research puts at around 716 years. It grows right by the road from Elbląg to Frombork, in a former imperial village on the Vistula Lagoon, and is the best-known natural monument of the Elbląg Upland Landscape Park. It is a short stop, but the huge hollow trunk is impressive in every season.

What to see

• Trunk girth of 1,003 cm – according to the Warmia-Masuria Film Fund, the second-thickest pedunculate oak in Poland. Right at ground level the girth reaches about 15 m, and the large hollow makes precise measurement difficult.
• Height of about 21 m and a crown spreading about 14 × 21.5 m – the tree still comes into leaf every year.
• Neighbours – six more old oaks grow around it, also protected as natural monuments.

History: an oak of many names

The tree is named after Jan Bażyński (c. 1390–1459), a knight and owner of Kadyny and one of the leaders of the Prussian Confederation. It used to have other names: from 1898, when the estate passed to Emperor Wilhelm II, it was called the "Royal Oak" and the "Thousand-Year Oak of Germany". After the Second World War it became the "Kadyna Oak" – after Princess Kadyna, the legendary founder of the village – and later the "Oak of Poland's Rebirth".

As early as 1880 the trunk was so hollow that a wooden door was fitted to the cavity and a guard was posted. One of the owners of Kadyny, Artur Birkner, claimed that eleven soldiers could fit inside. In the early 20th century the hollow trunk housed a beer tap and a currency exchange – an unusual use for a natural monument.

Kadyny around the oak

The village lies on the Vistula Lagoon, about 23 km from Elbląg, on regional road 503. Eduard Birkner bequeathed it to Emperor Wilhelm II, who had a summer residence built here. Today the palace and manor farm buildings (now a hotel) stand near the oak, and on the hill above is the Franciscan monastery from the second half of the 18th century and a wooden lookout tower with views over the lagoon.

Tripto tips

• Access: the tree stands by the road and can be seen all year round. Do not climb over the fence, into the hollow or onto the roots.
• Time needed: the oak itself takes 15–20 minutes. The "Kadyński Las" nature and history trail starts at the tree and leads past the Birkner chapel and through the nature reserve to the Franciscan monastery and the lookout tower.
• Photos: the trunk looks best in side light, in the morning or late afternoon; in winter, without leaves, you can see the twisted branches.
• Nearby: Frombork with its Cathedral Hill, Tolkmicko and the shore of the Vistula Lagoon.