10 years ago, the Czech Republic started a national competition for selecting the Tree of the Year, which rapidly grew into an international event. Poland and France were the last countries to join it. In the land of the Gauls, the idea was met with great enthusiasm and the proposals for tree of the year were so numerous that it was impossible to examine all of them in one year only. So that’s why the competition there is held every two years. 

Bulgaria also has its specific regulations for choosing its Tree of the Year as this country joined the initiative three years ago. In Bulgaria this contest is called “Tree with roots of the year” because the beautiful old trees are so many that an additional criterion for choosing the winner was sought, namely a tree with roots, i.e. with an interesting history and importance to the local community. 

This makes for a very exciting race for the Bulgarian organizers of the initiative “Eco-obshtnost” Foundation and for a very difficult task for the jury. Around 50 trees with a curious history were proposed by the Bulgarian participants this year.

The top ten included both interesting specimens such as the so-called Crooked Tree in Koprivshtitsa, a four centuries-old beech tree whose branches are oddly curved on all sides. Local legend says that when people in the area performed good deeds, its branches twisted upwards, and in bad deeds they turned down and thus time shaped their peculiar twisting shapes. The old mulberry tree in the village of Petko Slaveykovo, near Sevlievo, is a best-loved tree where local people, both Christians and Muslims, have been gathering under its shadow for more than a century for a friendly chatter. Once this tree was in the yard of the local mosque, but the villagers made a fence and left the big tree outside it in the village square that that everyone could benefit from its shadow and it could unite rather than divide the village. 

Another millennial tree, a sycamore which is 1,300 years old from the village of Zlatolist, near Sandanski, is linked with the story of one of the most famous female prophets of Bulgaria - reverend Stoyna. Another wonderful sycamore tree which is 1,100 years old also made it to the top ten, as it is considered the tree with the largest circumference of 13.7 meters and it is also wrapped in legend, one of which is sung in Bulgarian poetry. Next to this giant grows a fragile and beautiful rowan tree. It is believed that these two trees whose branches have interwoven inseparably have inspired one of the best-loved Bulgarian love poems written by Pencho Slaveykov and entitled "Inseparable".

And the winner this year is not a single tree but a group of three century-old trees in the village of Glushnik in the Sliven section of the Balkan Range, which collected over 1,100 votes.

A mulberry tree flanked by two walnut trees is growing in the yard of Stefan Stefanov. Having returned to his native village after 10 years in Sofia, he sees with new eyes these magnificent trees in the yard of his grandfather, where he used to play as a child. He decided to place them under the protection of the law as ancient trees to make sure that no one after him would encroach on this natural wealth. Digging into local history, he finds out that these trees have a glorious and rebellious history. Their branches are likely to have sheltered numerous rebels who fought for the liberation of Bulgaria from the Ottomans in the 19th century. One of them is Stefan’s great-grandfather Pascal Voevoda (rebel leader), who was the closest ally of famous 19th century revolutionary Panayot  Khitov.

The house and property of Pascal Voevoda are located at the entrance of the main road through the Sliven section of the Balkan Range where the so-called "one hundred chieftains" used to make their bivouacs. This place was also crossed by a Thracian road and later a Roman road connecting Constantinople with the Danube River. Archaeologist Stephen Lisitsov says one can still see the visible traces of the tracks of the Roman chariots on the stone pavement.

“From these trees starts the only road that crosses the Balkan Range to the north in this section of the mountain”, says Stefan Stefanov. “Our yard is like a door to it. We thought our village was only several centuries old but it turned out it was the successor to a Thracian settlement dating back 3,000 years ago. The archeological excavations made nearby really amazed locals. Incidentally, next to the ancient mulberry tree stands a hemispherical, concave stone, which I remember from my childhood. And what was my surprise when archaeologist Lisitsov told me that this strange and very heavy stone was three thousand years old. It was used as a vessel for crushing and enriching ore. And he showed that it has a groove on one side to keep the water oozing out when it reaches a certain level."

The region was known in antiquity for its rich deposits of non-ferrous metals. Not far from the old tree a Thracian sanctuary was discovered as well as vestiges of medieval castles. And today the glory of the region are its vineyards and wine, which are also an ancient tradition.

The village of Glushnik takes its name from a tradition existing only here where wine barrels have a small hole at the top, "galshnik" through which air enters

inside and thus makes it easier for the wine to pour out from the bottom spout. Stefan Stefanov owns several such casks which are more than one hundred years old. He also owns vineyards and makes his own wine. And his dream is that his property with the three century-old trees could become the venue for an annual local festival of wine and traditions.

“I want to make an annual festival like the German Oktoberfest or the French feast of the New Beaujolais, which is celebrated every third week of November. Because this is a viticultural area, there are about 300 ha of vineyards. We can relate this to the traditional mummers’ masquerade dances and the Thracian sanctuary. We can welcome here people to drink wine and to re-enact Thracian customs. We also produce local honey and other products unique for this region such as organic farming products.  We could make it also a bio-festival."

Over the three years during which Bulgaria participates in the European Tree of the Year, our proposal have won the second and third place. In 2010, the winner was the 600-year-old sycamore tree in the village of Garmen, near Blagoevgrad, which was later ranked second in the "European Tree of the Year 2011". Also, the 700-year-old elm tree growing on the banks of the Beli Lom River, near the village of Nissovo in the vicinity of Ruse, was named Bulgarian Tree with Roots for last year.

The voting for the "European Tree of the Year 2013" is expected to begin in February 2013 and people can vote at the website of the organization - www.treeoftheyear.org.

English version: Rossitsa Petcova