Witches Spruce
Species:
Norway spruce (Picea abies L.)
Age:
170 years (estimated)
Region:
Vilkyškiai forest near to Vilkyškiai town, Pagėgiai municipality, Lithuania
Mysterious Witches’ Broom
The Witches Spruce is 34 m in height, its 18 trunks (one of which was broken in a storm in 2007) branch at 80 cm, giving the appearance of tangled witch’s hair. One legend says the witch's broom turned into the tree because she met a local man she liked, and forgot to fetch her broom until midnight. Another story tells that Napoleon cut off the top of a small spruce while he was riding a horse, and it grew back into its strange shape as a result. Many legends have been captured in children's drawings.