Historic and cultural complex 700-year-old Zaporizhzhia oak tree

Zaporizhzhia Oak is a unique landmark of Zaporizhzhia. Since 1972, this object has been under protection as a reserve, and since 2010, it has been recognized as the National Tree of Ukraine. It is also considered an ancient dendrological monument of the original oak forests of the Dnieper region.

There are differing opinions among experts regarding the age of the oak - some believe that it could be up to 100 or even 200 years older.

There are many legends associated with the Zaporizhzhia Oak. According to one of them, in 1648, Bohdan Khmelnytsky himself rested in its shade, and in 1675, the military commander of the Zaporizhzhia Sich Ivan Sirko and other Cossacks wrote a letter to the Turkish sultan right under this oak. There is a legend that Taras Shevchenko read his poem "Kateryna" under the Zaporizhzhia Oak in 1843.

In 1990, the oak almost completely withered, and only one branch remained viable. In 2001, the "700-year-old Zaporizhzhia Oak" historical and cultural center opened right next to the oak.