Nature

The Freedom Oak

The spreading Freedom Oak on Plac Wolności in Nieporęt, with commemorative boulders at its foot
  • The Freedom Oak in portrait format, with the Nieporęt Municipal Office building in the background
  • Dark stone slab carved with the Fighting Poland symbol and the names of Home Army 3rd Battalion soldiers, Plac Wolności in Nieporęt
  • Boulder with a metal commemorative plaque and a white-and-red bouquet by the Freedom Oak
  • Crown of the Freedom Oak above a path on Plac Wolności in Nieporęt
  • Trunk and branches of the Freedom Oak seen close up against the sun

The Freedom Oak grows on Plac Wolności (Freedom Square) – in the heart of Nieporęt. According to local accounts, the first sapling was planted in November 1918 to celebrate Poland regaining its independence, but it did not take root.

Another oak, probably a red oak, was planted on 19 March 1936. The ceremony was attended by pupils of the local school, residents and soldiers of the Polish Army. The tree was blessed by Father Ludwik Kowieski.

On the night of 10–11 November 1943, Home Army soldiers decorated the fence around the oak with white-and-red pennants, the Fighting Poland emblem and the White Eagle. It was an act of resistance against the German occupation. The oak survived the war and still reminds us of the residents’ struggle for freedom.

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