Tamme-Lauri oak is the thickest and oldest tree in Estonia

Estonia

Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...

, located in Urvaste Parish

Urvaste Parish

Urvaste Parish is a rural municipality of Estonia, in Võru County. It has a population of 1,413 and an area of 139.62 km².There are two main tourist attractions: Tamme-Lauri oak and Pokuland.-Settlements:Villages...

, Võru County

Võru County

Võrumaa or Võru maakond officially, is a county in Southern Estonia. It is bordered to the north by the Põlva County and the Lake Pihkva; to the west by Valga County; to the south by Latvia; and to the east by the Russian Federation....

. The height of the tree is 17 metres (55.8 ft), circumference is 831 centimetres (327.2 in), measured 130 centimetres (51.2 in) from the ground. According to researchers, the tree was planted around 1326.

The oak has been hit repeatedly by lighting, damaging the branches, and the center had become empty. During restoration in 1970s an old hideout of forest brothers

Forest Brothers

The Forest Brothers were Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian partisans who waged a guerrilla war against Soviet rule during the Soviet invasion and occupation of the three Baltic states during, and after, World War II...

 was found inside the cavity. Seven people could stand inside the tree before it was filled with 8 tonnes (17,637 lb) of reinforced concrete

Reinforced concrete

Reinforced concrete is concrete in which reinforcement bars , reinforcement grids, plates or fibers have been incorporated to strengthen the concrete in tension. It was invented by French gardener Joseph Monier in 1849 and patented in 1867. The term Ferro Concrete refers only to concrete that is...

. The tree is still viable, although it has lost its top because of the lightning strikes.

The name of the Tamme-Lauri oak comes from Tamme-Lauri farm, which in turn got its name from the spirit that was thought to live in the oak, bringing bad and sometimes good luck. It was the spirit of fire called Laurits

Laurits

Laurits is a male given name, a Danish variant of Laurence and may refer to:*Laurits, fire god related to St. Lawrence in Estonian mythologyRussian and other slavs variants — Lavrentiy* Lavrentiy Beria-Given name:...

.

Tamme-Lauri oak is depicted on the back side of Estonian ten kroon

10 Krooni

The Estonian 10 Krooni bill is a denomination of the Estonian currency. Jakob Hurt , who was an Estonian folklorist, theologian, linguist and prominent social figure during the Estonian national awakening in the 19th–20th century, is featured with an engraved portrait on the front side of the bill...

banknote. The land where the tree is located was bought by Estonian Ministry of the Environment in 2006 and the oak has been under protection since 1939.