Tanzlinde (Effeltrich)
The Tanzlinde, also known as the Tausendjährige Linde or Dorflinde, is a summer lime tree (Tilia platyphyllos) located in Effeltrich, Upper Franconia, on the western edge of Franconian Switzerland. Positioned on the village square across from the fortified church, the lime tress has held a significant role as a central gathering, assembly, and judicial site for centuries. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, it also served as a venue for festivals and dances. Notably, the tree's growth features a distinctive flat-oval crown, a result of historical bast extraction for the cultivation of fruit trees. The lime tree in the Franconian region is often seen as the most beautiful among many village lime trees. Many tales, stories, and legends are attributed to the lime tree due to its varied life. Description Despite its old age, the lime tree maintains a strong and vibrant appearance, with its branches retaining well-leafy and abundant blossoms even at the top. The crown rests on a double ring-shaped beam framework comprising 24 supports, with the outer ring sitting on a 49-meter-long and 90-centimeter-high stone wall encircling the tree. This final stone wall also serves to protect the root area inside the wall. Without this framework of beams, the trunk of the Linden tree would break apart under the weight of the strong, spreading branches. Additionally, some of the branches are supported by two iron pipes each. Unlike certain other Tanzlinde trees, such as the one in Sachsenbrunn, the Effeltrich lime tree's branches were never outfitted with a dance platform. The festivities and dances took place beneath the beam structure instead. The crown of the tree boasts a diameter slightly exceeding 20 meters at a height of approximately seven meters. The crown is formed by eight strong, horizontally drawn branches with diameters up to 90 centimeters. The open trunk is closed by several iron bars. The trunk is completely hollow and completely filled with mulm. An adventitious root, about ten centimeters in thickness, has grown within the trunk to enhance nutrient supply to specific portions of the crown. Many of the extended and supported older branches also possess a hollow interior, with some upper sections missing, making the branches essentially half-shells composed of bark material. The appearance of the crown has undergone some changes over the past century. A photograph captured by tree photographer Friedrich Stützer for his tree book "Die größten, ältesten oder sonst merkwürdigen Bäume Bayerns in Wort und Bild" (The largest, oldest or otherwise strange trees of Bavaria in words and pictures) depicts the crown as broader and flatter compared to its present state. In that era, the crown extended several meters beyond the beam framework and the terminating wall, which now roughly defines the crown's boundaries. Since for many years the vertical shoots have no longer been regularly removed for bast extraction, the crown has also partially expanded upwards. The lime tree's wood volume, excluding the root wood, is estimated to be 36 cubic meters. The tree possesses an extensive network of roots.