Trunk with Cyrillic script is handed over to the memorial

The trees belonged to the garden between Neuer Garten and Pfingstberg, designed in 1862, which was located in the area of ​​the “Military Town No. 7” set up by the Soviet and Russian military from 1945 to 1994 and was not open to the public. The group of trees suffered from a so-called “beech complex disease,” the foundation explained.

Drought stress and pests

This is tree death caused by a combination of drought stress, soil conditions and pests. Various factors worked here simultaneously or one after the other: The foundation mentions the age-related decline in vitality, the high intensity of sunlight and an infestation with the beech bark ball fungus and the beech woolly scale insect.

As a result, trunk rot occurs, “which can lead to the breakdown of the wood, to branch breakage and ultimately to trunk breakage.” In April 2024, a leafy branch on one of the beech trees broke off and fell onto the park path. According to the foundation, traffic safety could be temporarily restored through a so-called crown relief cut in March 2025. However, as a result, the beech trees only sprouted sparsely.

The felling was coordinated with a publicly appointed and sworn tree expert and approved by the Lower Nature Conservation Authority, according to the foundation.

Two of the affected beech trunks have extensive inscriptions in Cyrillic script from the time of Soviet use. One of these trunks will continue to be preserved on site as a so-called Hochstubben for ecological reasons and as a memorial to the time of the Soviet “Military Town No. 7”. The castle foundation announced that the second carved trunk will be handed over to the Leistikowstrasse memorial and meeting place as an exhibit. To replace the felling, three beech trees will be replanted.