Chestnut tree in Ypres that survived two world wars wins Belgium’s Tree of the Year

A circle marks the spot where the damaged tree stood amid the destruction in Ypres, 1919

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A chestnut tree that miraculously survived the shelling of Ypres and the combined horrors of two world wars has been named the winner of Belgium’s Tree of the Year competition and celebrated as an enduring symbol of survival in the face of adversity.

The tree, which British Tommies marched past on their way to the front, was badly damaged during the First World War in bombardments that razed the Belgian city to the ground. 

Incredibly the tree survived the shelling, which lasted from October 1914 to September 1918, as it was protected by the city walls.

The tree was planted in 1860 on the eastern rampart of the medieval Flemish city’s fortifications, and its root structure was strong enough to help the tree recover.

It grew back with four separate trunks as Ypres was painstakingly rebuilt after being obliterated by German bombardments, and the base trunk now has a 9.2m circumference. 

“The chestnut is a monument, but it also exudes symbolic power. The four-trunk tree illustrates Ieper’s power to survive,” Alderman Valentijn Despeghel said, using the Dutch name for the city.

The chestnut tree by the Menin Gate memorial, which was inaugerated in 1927. 

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More than 100 years later, the sweet chestnut, which is 20-metres tall with a 30-metre-wide crown, stands by the Menin Gate memorial to the missing of the Great War, where the Last Post is sounded every evening at 8pm by volunteer firemen. 

During the Second World War, as hunger and cold hit the city, many trees were cut down for fuel. However, this one was spared because it was close to homes that could have been damaged by falling timber.   

The tree today, in full leaf

It is one of only two trees in Ypres to have survived both world wars and is the sole survivor of a “chestnut avenue” planted 140 years ago when the fortifications were turned into a public park.

The other survivor of the original 19th century planting on the city ramparts is a three-stemmed hazel tree. 

Local authorities said the chestnut tree had risen from the ashes like a phoenix like Ypres itself. 

The tree has four trunks

“It’s a living and especially vital monument that with a bit of luck can live for a further century,” Mr Despeghel told the VRT broadcaster.

The Tree of the Year prize comes with money to preserve the chestnut and improve its environment. It will now compete for the European Tree of the Year award, against 15 other trees.