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Residents of Velichka village are proud of their two centenary oaks

The 550 year old oak tree in the centre of the village
Photo: BTA

There is no inhabitant of the village of Velichka (north-eastern Bulgaria) who does not know about the two centuries-old oaks that have become part of the natural heritage of their settlement. The trees belong to the species Quercus spp. In 1990 they were fenced in and signs were put up indicating their approximate age.

There is an oak almost in the centre of Velichka, in front of the mosque built in 1683. It is 550 years old, 22 metres high and 5.30 metres in circumference. Former mayor Shukri Ahmed recalled to a BTA reporter that in his childhood, on the days of the major Muslim holidays of Ramadan Bayram and Eid, children and adults would gather near the tree. People would tie a swing to the branches for the children to play on. There are two potable wells next to the tree.



The other oak stands at the lower end of Velichka, near the local pond, on the road to the neighbouring village of Mengishevo. It is half a century younger - "only" 500 years old, 18 metres tall and 4.95 metres in circumference.

Both of Velichka's centenarian trees are part of a total of 29 centenarian trees protected under the Law on Biological Diversity that grow in the Targovishte region.

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