The educational journey of the robber Stetka

In the old days of the Thirty Years' War, the robber Štětka was the master of the deep forests, fields and hillsides around the town of Štětí. Today, his home is the former Mordloch Cave, hidden away from people in the middle of the Stračen forests. Who knows him in the region. He protects the poor and honest, and justly punishes dishonesty and avarice. He has walked this land many times. He knows every road and footpath here.

During your adventurous journey with the robber Stetka you will come across educational boards that will tell you all about the history, nature, fauna and flora, industry and agriculture of the local region or visit the mythical cave Mordloch of the robber Stetka. You can also try out a discovery competition Following the footsteps of the robbers or robber geocaching.

Stops

What is a Memorial Tree

Historically, the word "memorial tree" was used to refer to all trees of peasant age, pilgrimage or commemorative. Trees that are outstanding in stature, age, or are significant landscape landmarks, if they are a rare or foreign species, or if they commemorate a significant event, may be designated as a landmark tree.

How to find the Memorial Tree

Any citizen or civic association may submit an initiative for the designation of a memorial tree. The motion should include a precise plotting of the trees on a detailed map and the reason why the trees should be declared as memorial trees.

Monumental trees are registered in the Central List of Nature Conservation, which is maintained by the Agency for Nature Conservation and Landscape Protection of the Czech Republic. Currently, there are almost 23,000 monumental trees registered in the Czech Republic. Monumental trees are classified according to their species, size (circumference at 130 cm on the ground), estimated age and degree of damage.

Age of trees

The age of the oldest trees is very difficult to determine. Many methods are used to determine it, but in many cases none may give a sufficiently accurate result:

by rings (after felling the tree or by drilling)
according to the circumference of the trunk
according to historical records

Determining the age by the number of rings is often complicated by the presence of cavities. In this case, it is possible to calculate how many rings the mature part of the trunk may have borne by the preserved part.

The age estimate based on the circumference of the trunk is determined by taking into account the species and, where appropriate, the habitat in which the tree is located. This method cannot be used for trees where the original trunk is completely missing. This is typical for lime trees, which may replace the original trunk with a coppice of sapwood. The circumference of the trunk is one of the indicators of the age of a memorial tree. Lime and oak trees have the highest values. Particularly high values are achieved by the circumference of lime trees that have been formed by the grafting of stumps/stones from an original trunk that has already decayed. There are also cases where the circumference measured at the same time is the same or lower than the circumference measured many years ago. This is common in trees where only a torso of the original trunk remains, from which new trunks are growing.

Monumental trees of the Stettin region

Heart Lime (Radouň near the Church of God)

The reason for the proposal to declare the linden tree in Radouň a memorial tree is the fact that it is a dendrologically valuable, solitary tree with a regular, species-typical shape of the crown. The branch mass in the crown is evenly distributed in volume. Neither the trunk nor the crown are mechanically damaged or infected by fungal pathogens that would impair the physiological functions of the tree and thus reduce the stability of the tree. The mighty lime tree, along the road to Chcebuz, forms, together with the divine torment, a landscaping element and aesthetically completes the character of the village.

Circumference of the trunk at a height of 130 cm above the ground - 345 cm
Tree height - 22 m
Crown height - 19 m
Crown width - 16 m
Age of the tree - 250 years

Other monumental trees in the Štětsko region can be found in the villages of Sukorady and Křešov. The four heart lime trees in Sukorady were designated as memorial trees because of their probable importance in the historical significance of the area. The small-leaved lime trees of Kresov are significant in their dominance in the village and are in good health.

Photo gallery

Galerie - Křešov