The Bridal Oak (in Norwegian: Brureika) is an oak tree (''

Quercus robur ''Quercus robur'', the pedunculate oak, is a species of flowering plant in the beech and oak family, Fagaceae. It is a large tree, native plant, native to most of Europe and western Asia, and is widely cultivated in other temperate regions. It ...

'') which in 2007 was named Norway's largest tree (The

circumference In geometry, the circumference () is the perimeter of a circle or ellipse. The circumference is the arc length of the circle, as if it were opened up and straightened out to a line segment. More generally, the perimeter is the curve length arou ...

above ground is ).Brureeika
Treets venner (in Norwegian) The tree is located on the Lothe farm at

Utne Utne is a village in Ullensvang municipality in the Hardanger region of Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the northern end of the Folgefonn Peninsula, at the confluence of the Sørfjorden and Hardangerfjorden. The village is ...

Hardanger Hardanger is a traditional district in the western part of Norway, dominated by the Hardangerfjord and its inner branches of the Sørfjorden and the Eid Fjord. It consists of the municipalities of Ullensvang, Eidfjord, Ulvik and Kvam, and is ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. The oak tree was preserved and protected by law as Lote naturminne on May 21, 1920. Naturebase fact sheet: Lote naturminne
by the

Norwegian Environment Agency The Norwegian Environment Agency () is a Norwegian government agency under the Ministry of Climate and Environment. Its primary responsibilities are to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, manage Norwegian nature, and prevent pollution. The agency ha ...

(in Norwegian) The trunk is hollow, divided into two parts with common roots, and the two parts are joined by two iron bars to avoid further splitting. Although the tree is hollow and split, the foliage is still lush.

The name

The name comes from past times, when bridal gatherings gathered under this tree after

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

Gallery

File:Brureika 001.jpg, Brureika, 2009 File:Brureika 002.jpg, Brureika, 2009 File:Brureika 004.jpg, Brureika, 2009 File:Brureika 007.jpg, Brureika, 2009 File:Brureika 008.jpg, Brureika, 2009 File:Brureika 006.jpg, Brureika, 2009

References

{{Authority control Ullensvang Tourist attractions in Vestland Individual trees in Norway Individual oak trees