Femeiche
The Femeiche, formerly known as Rabenseiche, Ravenseiche, or Erler Eiche, located in Erle within the North Rhine-Westphalian district of Borken, is one of Germany's oldest oaks, estimated to be between 600 and 850 years old.
[2] For more than a century, this oak tree has been designated a natural monument due to its age,[3] lightning strikes, storms, and human impact.
[1] The village of Erle is situated on the edge of the Westmünsterland, at the crossroads of the Franconian Rhineland and the Saxon Hamaland, in a typical heathland landscape within the Hohe Mark-Westmünsterland Nature Park, three kilometers southeast of Raesfeld on the B 224 highway.
This oak tree stands on the southwestern outskirts of the village, adjacent to a new development area, and is situated next to Erle's oldest house, the historic pastorate.
The tree's former large branches exist only as remnants, as they broke off many centuries ago due to storms and lightning strikes.
[6] The remaining trunk now forms a secondary crown, supported by several wooden poles, some resting on stone slabs, preventing the tree from falling.
Due to the absence of the oldest wood from the center of the trunk, traditional methods like annual ring counting and radiocarbon dating cannot be applied.
It is listed by the Unteren Landschaftsbehörde (ULB) (Lower Landscape Authority) based on an ordinance from the district of Borken, which is responsible for its protection and maintenance.
[22] As a natural monument, structural installations, excavations, and fills in its vicinity are strictly prohibited, providing the oak with the highest level of protection.
According to one legend, the god Odin himself served as a judge under the oak, with his two ravens, Hugin and Munin, perched on the branches of the tree.
[5] The Freistuhl, also known as the Erler Femgericht, met under the oak tree called "den vryen Stoel tum Aßenkampe" during the late Middle Ages when it held its greatest authority.
At this Freistuhl, which was a large stone slab, the free counts, along with six assessors, conducted trials based on Emperor Charlemagne's laws for serious crimes like murder, robbery, arson, and perjury.
Until 1335, the court was under the control of the lord of the see of Heiden and had jurisdiction over the parishes of Erle, Raesfeld, Alt-Schermbeck, and the Dorsten districts of Rhade and Holsterhausen north of Lippe.
[28] The stone slab of the free chair was erected as a monument at the bridge near Dorsten; in 1945, British soldiers threw it into the river.
[5] The absence of the central trunk allowed water to penetrate the tree, leading to wood decay and the formation of a cavity.
He treated the diseased tree with sharp tools, scraped out the rotten middle section, and created a narrow, man-high entrance.
[7] The renovation aimed to ensure that the annual growth on the outside of the tree exceeded the wood loss on the inside, preventing the trunk shells from becoming thinner.
The arborists cut into the cell layer of the bark to promote sap flow and removed rotten and fungus-infested wood.
