The tree of freedom
My children know how much I love trees. When they travel and spot an unusual or gorgeous or very old tree, they send me a picture. They know it will make me smile … and it does. This year, I had something else to smile about related to a tree close to home, the Tree of Freedom on Rab which was recently named the Tree of the Year in Croatia and came in ninth place in the European competition. I love tree competitions and the way they showcase these remarkable living beings that are so important to our lives, but that we mostly just go by or go under without thinking too much about them. I love seeing which tree each country will select to be its tree of the year. Sometimes, the trees are among others in a small forest or at the edge of a glade. More often than not, though, they are solitary beauties like the Tree of Freedom.
Winter on the Pjaceta. The Tree of Freedom with the setting sun as backdrop.
The Tree of Freedom is located, appropriately, on the Trg Slobode or Square of Freedom, otherwise known to locals as the Pjaceta. This country has seen a number of rulers come and go and so has also had multiple opportunities to celebrate its freedom. The square sits alongside St. Justine, the Benedictine church built to honor the Battle of Lepanto (1571) in which many from Rab took part. The tree, however, commemorates another freedom. This time, freedom from the Italian forces that occupied Rab after World War I. When those troops exited Rab, the tree was planted on April 23rd, 1921.
The Pjaceta is a favorite gathering spot for locals and tourists: for impromptu parties and organized festivals, for beautiful photo ops, for carving vows of love on the church walls, or for playing soccer after a long day at the beach, something my kids took part in on many a summer night. The tree has stood witness to all of this as shown in this wonderful video produced for the competition. And, most importantly, the tree has stood firm and strong, weathering both the island’s wild winds and some very hot summer days. A tree of this size needs to be watered every now and then. For this, a fire hose is required and it’s incredible to watch the tree drink in every drop.
Rab summer jazz festival concert in the shade of the Tree of Freedom.
The holm oak is a native Mediterranean tree and it is plentiful on Rab. Before I began visiting here, I was always used to the mighty oaks of the US like the red, black, and white oaks with their tall trunks and hand-shaped leaves or the southern live oaks, covered in Spanish moss, like those in Audobon Park, famous for the Tree of Life and under which I whiled away many afternoons when I lived in New Orleans. I remember watching Katherine Hepburn in an interview declaim, in that no-nonsense way of hers, that she would “like to be an oak tree … very strong.” When I look at oak trees, I think of her confidence. Indeed, the oak has long been a symbol of strength and resilience. It appears in mythology as well. Virgil wrote that the Golden Bough itself grew out of the holm oak.
In the magical forest of Dundo.
The holm oak is an evergreen. Its leaves are a dark green, very smooth, and very slendor. Legend has it that the name Rab itself—Arba in Illyrian-Liburnian—signifies the dark green forests that cover part of the island. One forest that I go to almost daily, Komrčar Park, runs along the top of the city beach and was designed by forester Pravdoje Belija in the late nineteenth century.
The other forest that I go to often, Dundo, is more ancient and stretches along the coastline. The holm oak is prominent there and some of them are believed to be more than 1,000 years old. Biking paths and walking paths in this area (also called the Kalifront or Capo Fronte trails) crisscross in this national park and you can find small coves for a quiet swim. Being there feels like entering a fairytale landscape. It is also an open-air museum, thanks to a project called Rab Archeological (T)races which provides (via an app) trail information. When you come to Rab, visit the Tree of Freedom on the Pjaceta for sure, but also make sure to spend some time in Komrčar Park and the Dundo forest.
On one of the many trails in Dundo, coming back from the Kalifront.
