Did you know...? The oldest and largest beech trees in Europe and even the world are located in the Sonian Forest
To the south-east of our capital, there is an over 4,000-hectare 'green lung' called the Sonian Forest. The uncrowned 'kings' of vegetation here are the numerous giant beech trees, some of which are up to 250 years old, and the tallest specimen in the world can be found here too.
What is now a paradise for hikers, cyclists and horse riders was once the hunting grounds of kings and counts. In the late 17th and early 18th century, landowners began to extract timber on a large scale to pay their debts. In the 18th century, the Austrian Habsburgs were the ruling house in this region. They ordered their compatriot, landscape architect and scion of a gardening family Joachim Zinner to fill any vacant land with new plantings. Not out of concern for nature, but purely for economic reasons. To provide them with lumber and firewood. Zinner's preference was for a monoculture of beech trees. The soil and climate in the Sonian Forest were and still are perfect for this species. Fertile, never too wet and never too dry. Tree nurseries sprang up here and there, on the edge of the forest. Once the beeches were fully grown, they were transported and replanted at regular intervals. Zinner's momentum was unstoppable. In the same breath, he cut down sections of the forest to plant additional beeches. In the late 19th century, the walking bourgeoisie successfully protested the rampant logging in the Sonian forest.
Some parts of the forest have not been managed or maintained since 1983 but now the forest can take its proper course in these areas. Such is the case in the pristine forest reserve and official UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site, Joseph Zwaenepoel, in the Flemish area of the forest. It is the oldest and, with its 230 hectares, also the largest tree reserve in Flanders. It is also home to the tallest beech trees in the country and some even in the world! There are as many as 30 per acre. Nowhere else will you find such high density. Their high, bare trunks which extend for dozens of metres, sprout a lush canopy of foliage that blocks most sunlight and thus gives little opportunity to lower vegetation. Underground life, beetles, mosses and mushrooms do well here.
The uncrowned world champion among the forest giants is a nearly 50-meter-tall beech which is over 1.5 meters thick. A gigantic unique specimen with more than 200 years on the clock. That’s quite impressive, to say the least!