Czech Tree of the Year Celebrates 25 Years

Over its 25-year history, the Czech Tree of the Year competition has brought 282 trees from communities across the country into the national final. More than CZK 3.5 million has been raised for the care and protection of mature trees, and nearly one million people have taken part in the voting. What began as a local initiative has grown into one of Czechia's most prominent projects promoting tree protection and strengthening people's connection with the landscape.

The origins of the Tree of the Year competition, as well as the revival of Tree Day celebrations in Czechia, are connected with a number of people and events that shaped the environmental movement around the turn of the millennium.

At the end of 1999, biologist and writer Václav Větvička and artist and author Martin Patřičný met in the greenhouses of Charles University's Botanical Garden. Their conversation led to the idea of reviving the tradition of Tree Day and drawing attention to the importance of trees in public spaces.

The initiative built on earlier traditions of tree planting, including the Trees of Freedom planted in 1968 and post-war campaigns encouraging people to plant trees for future generations.

After joining forces with the National Museum, singer Hana Hegerová and Miroslav Kundrata, then director of the Partnership Foundation, the idea began to take concrete shape. October 20 was chosen as Tree Day. The first celebrations, including Hana Hegerová's performance at Prague's Na Fidlovačce Theatre, gradually developed into a nationwide tradition.

The Tree of the Year competition itself began a little later in Brno. Its initiator was ecologist Antonín Buček, who was concerned that extensive tree cutting in the city attracted relatively little public attention.

Instead of focusing only on trees that were disappearing, he proposed celebrating trees with powerful stories and a special meaning for their local communities.

The first editions were organised in Brno under the Czech Union for Nature Conservation. When the Partnership Foundation took over the idea as part of its Trees for Life programme, the competition gradually expanded to the national level.

From the beginning, it became clear that combining the stories of individual trees with the energy of local communities could reach a much wider audience. Fundraising was also part of the concept, through activities and events supporting the care of trees.

Trees proved to be an accessible and positive symbol of environmental action, creating a way to engage the public and gradually open discussion about broader environmental issues.

Over the past 25 years, hundreds of municipalities, associations, schools and individuals have taken part in Tree of the Year.

A total of 1,872 trees from across Czechia have been nominated. They represent not only natural heritage, but above all the stories of people, families and communities connected with them.

Nearly one million people have participated in the voting, while accompanying activities have raised more than CZK 3.5 million for professional tree care.

The success of the Czech Tree of the Year inspired the Partnership Foundation to establish the international European Tree of the Year competition, first held in 2011.

The Partnership Foundation initiated the competition and continues to coordinate it at the European level together with partner organisations from participating countries. European Tree of the Year brings together remarkable trees and their stories from across the continent, highlighting their historical significance and their strong connections to local communities.

Czechia achieved its greatest European success in 2020, when the Guardian of the Flooded Village, better known as the Chudobín Pine, became the first and so far only Czech winner of the European Tree of the Year.

Twenty-five years of Tree of the Year demonstrate that trees are much more than elements of the landscape. They carry local stories, memories and connections between people.

This ability to combine nature conservation with human stories has helped transform a regional initiative into one of the best-known environmental competitions in Czechia and, eventually, inspired a European competition built on the same idea.

To celebrate the anniversary, the organisers have created a special edition called Tree of the Quarter-Century. Instead of introducing new finalists, thirteen winners from previous editions of the Czech Tree of the Year are competing against each other.

The three highest-ranking trees will receive professional arboricultural care as well as financial support.

The anniversary edition offers an opportunity to rediscover trees that have already captured the public's imagination and to highlight once again their stories and importance to local communities.

The public will now decide which of them earns a special place in the competition's green hall of fame.

Voting for the Czech Tree of the Quarter-Century is now open and runs until 5 October 2026.

Discover the thirteen finalists and cast your vote for the Czech Tree of the Quarter-Century.