The Rogalin Oaks

The Rogalin oaks (Rogalin: roh-GAH-leen) are Europe's largest cluster of ancient pedunculate oaks, growing beside the Warta River in the village of Rogalin, about 20 km (12 miles) south of Poznań in western Poland. Three giants named Lech, Czech and Rus stand in the park of an 18th-century aristocratic palace and are the most famous trees in the country. If you enjoy old-growth landscapes, local legends and historic country houses, this is one of the most rewarding half-day trips from Poznań.

Why the oaks have such unusual names

The three trees are named after the brothers of a medieval founding myth shared by Poles, Czechs and Ukrainians. According to the Chronicle of Greater Poland, written in the late 13th century, Lech, Czech and Rus each founded a nation: Poland, Bohemia and Ruthenia. A local version of the tale adds that the brothers met right here while out hunting. That story turned three ordinary-looking giants into a national symbol, and painters have been coming to sketch them since the 19th century.

How old are the Rogalin oaks?

Age estimates for veteran oaks are always approximate, but tree-ring research by the Institute of Dendrology of the Polish Academy of Sciences suggests that Rus is more than 800 years old, making it the oldest known oak in Poland. Earlier estimates put it at roughly 520 years. The museum lists these trunk circumferences, measured at chest height:

• Rus – 9.15 m (30 ft), the stoutest tree in the Rogalin oak forest
• Czech – 7.35 m, dead since 1992 but still standing
• Lech – 6.33 m, partly broken yet still alive
• Edward's Oak – 6.18 m, a lone giant near the slope down to the river meadows

Scientists have even cloned Rus, and a young tree with the same genes now grows near the palace. A 1992 survey counted 1,435 oaks with trunks over 2 m around the palace, and about 2,000 grow across the wider area. The Rogalin Landscape Park was created in 1997 to protect them, and rare beetles such as the great capricorn beetle, the hermit beetle and the stag beetle live in the old wood.

Is it worth visiting, and how long to spend

Yes, especially if you combine the oaks with the palace. A walk around the garden and park takes about an hour; add the palace interiors, the painting gallery and the carriage house and you will need around three hours. The trees are fenced off to protect their roots, so enjoy them from the paths. Fall is the most photogenic season, when the leaves turn gold, while early spring reveals the full shape of the bare crowns. Kids usually love the sheer size of the trunks.

Tickets and opening hours 2026

Since March 2024 the palace garden and park can only be entered from the palace courtyard with a ticket:

• standard PLN 5, reduced PLN 2
• pupils and students aged 7–26: PLN 1
• a ticket to any museum exhibition includes park entry

Prices are in Polish złoty (PLN); cards are widely accepted in Poland, but it is wise to carry a little cash. Buy park tickets at the museum box office or the ticket machine next to it. The park is open daily, with seasonal hours:

• May–August: 9 am–8 pm
• March, April, September: 9 am–6 pm
• October: 9 am–6 pm, 9 am–5:30 pm after the clocks change
• November–February: 9 am–4:30 pm

The palace and galleries open Tuesday to Sunday, 9 am–4 pm, and close on Mondays; daily palace tickets are limited, so book online in season. Free parking runs along road 431. Phone: +48 61 813 88 00. The museum runs an English-language website.

How to get to Rogalin

Rogalin lies on regional road 431 in the Mosina district, about 20 km from central Poznań, which has an international airport and direct trains from Warsaw and Berlin. Driving or taking a taxi from Poznań is the simplest option. The landscape park borders Wielkopolska National Park, so hikers and cyclists can continue along the Warta valley, where more veteran oaks, some of them dead and silver-gray, stand by old river channels.

Things to do nearby

• Raczyński Palace, an 18th-century residence with a fine gallery of Polish paintings, a carriage house and a London study recalling Edward Raczyński, who served as president of the Polish government-in-exile and left the estate to the museum
• The Raczyński mausoleum church (1817–1820), modeled on the Roman temple at Nîmes in France
• Riverside meadows and oxbow lakes of the Rogalin Landscape Park