Sobieski's Oak

Sobieski's Oak is a pedunculate oak more than 400 years old, growing in the Łężczok nature reserve, within the administrative boundaries of Racibórz. It is regarded as the thickest and oldest tree in the town and in the reserve.

How big the oak is

The circumference of the trunk measured at a height of 1.3 m is 690 cm, and the tree is 33 m tall.

At ground level the circumference exceeds 850 cm. At a height of 3.5 m the trunk divides into two main limbs, and there used to be a third, probably broken off by the wind. A crack was left in the tree after it. The oak is one of the three oldest and most impressive trees of the Cistercian Landscape Compositions of Rudy Wielkie Landscape Park. A small wooden fence surrounds it.

Origin of the name

The name comes from a legend according to which the tree was planted to commemorate the passage of King John III Sobieski on his way to relieve Vienna in 1683.

It is known, however, that in 1683 the oak was already about a hundred years old. It was most probably planted by the Cistercians, who lined roads and pond dykes with oaks. In Upper Silesia there is a whole tradition of such stories about Sobieski's trees.

Protection and treatment

The tree has been a natural monument since 14 April 1967, and its status was confirmed by the voivode of Silesia in 2006.

In the 1970s the crack was filled with a concrete plug, which accelerated the rotting of the trunk and collapsed in 2002. The trunks were bound with a chain, and in 1998 the crown was fully pruned. Today it is without limbs up to a considerable height.

Practical information

• The oak grows by the Aleja Husarii Polskiej, on the causeway between the Grabowiec and Brzeziniak ponds. The red Polish Hussars Trail runs along it.
• Nearby stands a historic hunting lodge from the 18th century and a wooden cross commemorating a forester killed by a poacher.
• It is about 5 km to the centre of Racibórz, including the castle.