DANCE LIME TREE OF PEESTEN

In past times the dance lime tree grew in the centre of the village of Peesten, opposite the hunting lodge built by Carl Maximilian de Biech in 1725 and next to the Marienkirche church. A platform of 82 square metres was built in the branches of the tree, whose crown was trimmed into an enormous cube. The horizontally trained branches that supported the platform were in turn held up by twelve stone columns. Access to the platform, which was used as a dance floor, was via a spiral staircase. The tree was first mentioned in a municipal document, which indicated that it was planted in the late 16th century. In 1947 the tree and the rotten wooden elements were removed. In 1951 a new lime tree was planted in the location of the historic dance lime tree, and its branches were trained over the ensuing decades. The "Förderkreis Tanzlinde" was founded in the spring of 1999 in order to reconstruct the dance lime tree. The reconstruction was based on historic descriptions and drawings. Building began in 2001, and the inauguration took place in September of the same year. The columns and stairs were recovered from the historic lime tree. A lime tree festival takes place every year in Peesten on the second weekend in July. Summer concerts and plays are also held in and around the lime tree.
Helga Dressel - www.tanzlinde-peesten.de