It was too small for the Erfurt Cathedral Square, but just right for the Brandenburg Gate: Thuringia is once again supplying a Christmas tree for a special place in Berlin this year.
Lederhose (dpa/th) – A 15 meter high Nordmann fir tree from Thuringia will decorate the Brandenburg Gate and Pariser Platz in Berlin during the Christmas season. The approximately 30-year-old coniferous tree from private ownership was felled on Saturday in light frost and sunshine in the municipality of Lederhose in the Jena-Holzland forestry office area, according to the state forestry institute. The action went smoothly. “Everything was fine,” said a spokesman for the State Forest Agency. The Nordmann fir, which was powdered white when the first snow fell this winter, weighs about two tons.
For the eighth time in a row since 2015, the probably most photographed German Christmas tree in front of the Brandenburg Gate comes from Thuringia. “Our tree in Berlin is great advertising for our forest,” explained Thuringia’s Forest Minister Susanna Karawanskij (left).
Christmas trees, which have a deep-rooted tradition during the Christmas season in Germany, are also a source of income for local forestry. The income also served to finance the conversion of the forest to climate-resistant species, according to the minister, according to the state forest agency.
The Nordmann fir, which according to the forest spokesman has a perfect pyramidal growth, was previously in front of a private house in the East Thuringian town of Lederhose. The owners first contacted the city of Erfurt to offer the stately and immaculate tree for the Christmas market on Domplatz, said the forest spokesman.
However, it is too small for the Christmas market in the Thuringian state capital because the tree is embedded in a bracket in the ground a few meters deep. “That’s how we came to the train,” said the spokesman. In the meantime, word has gotten around in Thuringia that a tree is being sought for the Brandenburg Gate every year.
After being felled, this year’s specimen was lifted onto a low-loader with great care using a heavy-duty crane so that the branches and especially the crown remained undamaged. The tree is to be transported to Berlin this Monday.
It should be set up there immediately after arrival by the Technical Relief Agency. The plan is for it to be decorated with around 15,000 energy-saving lamps and hundreds of Christmas balls on the 1st of Advent. The tree is paid for by Thüringenforst, which is usually a few hundred euros, said the spokesman. A company from Berlin will take care of the transport costs.