How about casting a vote for Trsteno's elderly resident?
While Dubrovnik is best known for its monumental city walls, another historic gem awaits just a short ride away. Some 20 kilometres away from the Old Town, you'll find Trsteno - the oldest Arboretum in the world and the oldest Renaissance park in Croatia.
You can learn more about this gorgeous park here, but today, we'd like to draw your attention to one specific resident of the Arboretum Trsteno: the great plane tree.
Around 450 years ago, Captain Florio Jakob Antunov brought five plane tree saplings from Bosphorus to Dubrovnik and had them planted near a water spring. Two of the trees have survived to this day, growing into some of the biggest plane trees in the whole of Europe.
One of the two has been nominated for the European Tree of the Year award, a contest launched in 2011 to highlight the significance of our priceless natural heritage. The plane tree of the Arboretum Trsteno now stands as one of the finalists, and if you can spare a minute, we'd like to urge you to cast a vote for this elderly botanical gem.
"The massive plane tree, the symbol of Trsteno, is a protected park architecture monument. Its beauty, size and age make it a popular tourist attraction. In the early 15th century, the sapling was brought from Constantinople by Captain Florio Jakob Antunov, who planted it next to a spring. The tree has survived all would-be conquerors - Turkish invaders, Napoleon’s army and Russian troops - thanks to the mild climate, the life-giving spring, and the care of the locals entrusted with its survival", says the website.
Here is how you can cast your vote for the plane tree in Trsteno:
Go to the website European Tree of the Year, where you'll find a list of all nominated trees.
Click on 'the tree's story' to learn more about their locations, age, and histories.
Choose two of your favourites - we hope one is the Trsteno plane tree - and click on the items. You'll see a tick appear in the bottom right corner of each item you selected.
At the bottom of the page, you'll see your two favourites listed - click on 'vote' and follow the instructions.
This initiative was put forward by Dubravka Suica MEP, and you can vote until February 28 - fingers crossed for our Croatian contender!
