Linde van Bavegem

If you've been around for a few years and you're familiar with the Linde van Bavegem, you'll certainly remember the different forms of this historical tree. Sometimes it's large and majestic, sometimes it's nothing more than a few rising branches around a hollow trunk. This is beautifully explained in the podcast by Nieuwe Feiten by Joeri Cortens from Natuurpunt.

"The wood of the linden tree is not really durable. If the trunk cracks, this tree quickly becomes hollow. But the regeneration capacity of the linden is enormous. The tree quickly produces new shoots. They are survivors or veteran trees. They are trees that can endure a lot." 

Functionally, the wood is not worth much. But the linden tree is a sacred tree. 

"A linden is a cultural tree. The Germans revered the goddess Freya in the form of a linden tree. Freya was also wise and represented justice. Therefore, judgments were often made under a linden tree. After the Christianization, the custom of reverence did not disappear. Thus, the concept was embraced, and Maria was linked to the tree as an alternative to Freya. That is why you still very often see small chapels dedicated to Mary connected to linden trees." 

Dromos