OLDEST -- Tree in Paris - Paris, France
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ToRo61
N 48° 51.134 E 002° 20.839
31U E 452120 N 5411235
Planted in 1601 by Jean Robin, botanist and gardener to the king. Today the tree is 15 meters high and 3.50 meters in circumference.
Waymark Code: WMMDCY
Location: Île-de-France, France
Date Posted: 09/04/2014
Views: 16
Several steps from the Notre-Dame Cathedral, close to the Latin Quarter, just by the old Anglo-Saxon bookstore Shakespeare and Company on the small square René Viviani there is a tree, that has already seen and heard a lot, a witness of several centuries history. It is very old, bent, supported by the concrete, covered with the ivy leaves, surrounded by the old buildings of the Latin Quarter. In its shadow, on the benches around the tree, tourists eat sandwiches, take pictures, read a book, lovers enjoy the tender moments, people talk, relax.
Old „robinier“ (acacia), planted in 1602, gives the respect to the small square René Viviani. The tree shadow touches the church Saint Julien le Pauvre, dated from 6th century. Normands destroyed the church in the 9th century and from its ruins the new church was built in the 13th century. According to Wikipedia the name of the tree „robinier“ comes from the name of Jean Robin (1550/1629), a botanist of the king Henri IV, who brought it to France. The first acacia (black locust) was planted on the square Place Dauphine in 1601, but it is not there anymore. From this tree come two other Parisian acacias: one on the Viviani square and the other planted in 1636 in the garden Jardin des Plantes. The square René Viviani, the name of which rem2.jpginds us of the French politician in the years 1863-1925, was open to the public in 1928.
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