It is one of the thickest specimens of the European oak in Poland. With a circumference of 1003 cm, it ranks second in terms of thickness in Poland. The tree is estimated to be 720 years old. Its base features a large hollow (making it difficult to measure its circumference precisely), which, according to descriptions from a century ago, could accommodate 11 soldiers. The oak has been renamed multiple times: in 1898 it was named the Royal Oak – at that time, the Kadyny estate was owned by the German emperor Wilhelm II – and was also referred to as the Thousand-Year Oak of Germany. After World War II, the tree was named the Kadyna Oak, after the village founder, Princess Kadyna. Later still, it was called the Oak of the Rebirth of Poland. Its current name honours the knight Jan Bażyński (1390-1459), a local hero and the once owner of Kadyny. The tree grows just by the road from Elbląg to Frombork.
fot. Jarosław Kowalski
