Old trees should not be moved
The city has been planting trees in various places for some 400 years. But there is no longer a single tree in the city of that age. Because of disease or redevelopment of the city, many of those old trees have since disappeared. On top of that there is another great enemy, which means the oldest trees in our city have still only reached the respectable age of 250 years: strong wind.
Protect the greenery
To make sure we preserve the greenery for future generations, the trees that qualify have been labelled 'monumental'. One of the requirements for such a label, for example, is that the tree must be at least 50 years old. Most of these monumental trees stand along the canals in the city centre. If you are curious, all the trees are shown on a map from the city council.
Silent witnesses
Many trees in the city have been silent witnesses to the development of Amsterdam. Take the trees in the centre that 'saw' the Second World War happen, for instance. Or how about the oldest one in the city: the 'Platanus x hispanica' from 1880 on the Weteringcircuit, which witnessed from across the road the growth of the Heineken empire. The stories of the city, captured in greenery.
Update from the community: The oldest tree in Amsterdam is more than 200 years old and stands in the Hortus botanical garden: a Turkish hazel.
