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The competition for Bulgarian candidate in the Rooted Tree 2014 European contest has ended. Online voting decided that a plane tree from the village of Archar near Vidin is to compete for the European prize. More about this tree can be learned when the international vote starts on February 1. Today we present the winner in the accompanying Bulgarian contest "Ancient Trees Tell a Story." This is a millennium-old plane in the village of Belashtitsa near Plovdiv. The tree has witnessed turbulent historical events and inspired great Bulgarian symbolist poet Pencho Slaveykov.

The poet loved to come to this village. It is believed that under this tree he wrote his immortal love poem "Inseparable," whispered to him by the ancient tree. "Long I stood there and listened/ in the shade the tree afforded, /And the story she related/ in sad verses I recorded,” he wrote. The story of the poem resembles that of Romeo and Juliet. Two lovers cannot be together because of their parents and choose death. But they still remain together after death as a Sycamore and a Guelder –Rose.

The plane tress in Belashtitsa / Photo: wikimapia.org

"I am very happy because this award coincided with the anniversary of the village of Belashtitsa, established 1000 years ago,” Mayor Tsvetanka Chitakova told Radio Bulgaria. “The millennium-old our plane had a central role in the festivities organized by the municipality this autumn. We are proud of this very beautiful branched tree with a circumference of 14 meters."

The emergence of the village is related to one of the most tragic episodes in Bulgarian history. In 1014 the Byzantine emperor Basil II, nicknamed by later authors “the Bulgar-slayer,” defeated in the Belasitza Mountain the army of Bulgarian Tsar Samuil and blinded his 15,000-strong army. It is believed that the Byzantine commander Nikephoros Xiphias, then governor of Philippopolis, brought here part of the blinded warriors of Tsar Samuel of Bulgaria. The village is named after the mountain of Belasitza. It is also believed that the tree was brought here from Belasitza too, as the plane is not a common species in the Plovdiv region. It is hard to imagine all the dramatic events the tree has witnessed.

"The blinded warriors participated in building the St. George monastery that is just a kilometer away from the village,” the mayor says. “According to legends Nikephoros Xiphias wanted to atone for blinding the Bulgarian warriors by building the monastery. Close to the ancient tree the ruins of a medieval tower are situated, but its history is not well-known. The tree was once in the farm of Rustem Bey, who had an opulent mansion and harem. The building has been returned to heirs but these days it is derelict. However, one can still see the beautiful frescoes and exquisite carvings "

The prize for the ancient tree includes the specialized services of a dendrologist, who is to determine with precision its age and health condition.

English: Alexander Markov