Pine on Stilts in Wełecz

On the edge of Wełecz Forest, a few kilometres from Busko-Zdrój, grows a Scots pine that looks as if it has walked out of the woods on stilts. Its roots lift the trunk about 3 metres off the ground, and several people can stand beneath them. The tree, also called the "walking pine", has been a protected natural monument since 2002.

Where the stilts came from

The most common explanation is that local people exposed the roots years ago while digging sand here, lowering the ground level. Over time the exposed roots grew bark and came to resemble branches. A publication by the Busko municipal cultural centre (BSCK) also mentions a second theory – that the pine is entirely the work of nature. Some of the roots are as thick as a medium-sized tree, others hang in the air without touching the ground, and the whole thing looks like a giant spider on long legs. Despite this disturbance, the tree has stayed healthy and vigorous.

Natural monument and memorial site

A board beside the tree says the pine was declared a natural monument by resolution of the Busko-Zdrój Town Council on 10 October 2002, and its trunk girth is about 200 cm. BSCK describes it as almost a hundred years old. The area also has a tragic history: in 1939–1944 the Germans carried out mass executions in Wełecz Forest, shooting about two hundred prisoners from Gestapo jails in Busko-Zdrój, Kielce and Pińczów. Elsewhere in the forest a monument commemorates 44 people murdered by the Busko Gestapo in 1943–1944.

Tripto tips

• Getting there: from the Busko-Zdrój – Pińczów road, turn onto a narrow paved lane signposted "Pomnik przyrody. Sosna pospolita". The tree stands at the forest edge at the foot of a small hill.
• The paved Busko – Wełecz – Kameduły cycle route, about 18 km long, starts and ends in Busko-Zdrój and passes through Wełecz. Along the route there is also a monument to January Uprising insurgents from General Langiewicz's units.
• Entry is free. A quarter of an hour is enough to see the pine; do not climb on the roots, as this is a protected natural monument.