Attraction
The Secular Gorun Oak – The Old Man of the Carpathians, Mercheașa
The Secular Gorun Oak of Mercheașa, nicknamed "The Old Man of the Carpathians", is considered the oldest tree in Romania — its estimated age exceeds 900 years, making it a living witness to the founding of Transylvania. It has a trunk circumference of 9.3 metres (eight people are needed to encircle it with their arms) and a height of approximately 21 m. Declared a natural monument in 2012, it stands on a pasture with hundreds of centuries-old oak trees on the outskirts of the village of Mercheașa, in the commune of Homorod.
The Secular Gorun Oak of Mercheașa, nicknamed "The Old Man of the Carpathians", is the oldest known tree in Romania. It stands on a hillside approximately 1.7 km north-east of the village of Mercheașa, in the commune of Homorod, Brașov County, on one of the largest pastures of centuries-old oak trees in the country, where several hundred ancient gorun oaks grow with circumferences ranging between 2 and 7 metres. The tree was only "discovered" in 2009–2010, when a young girl from the village brought it to attention during a children's competition organised by the Mihai Eminescu Trust Foundation. In 2011 it was named "The Old Man of the Carpathians", and in 2012 it was officially declared a natural monument and protected area. Its age was estimated by the Carpaterra Association together with the Agricultural and Forestry Research Institute (ICAS) Brașov, using a statistical method based on the correlation between circumference and age (the species grows approximately 1 cm per year in circumference). With a circumference of 9.3 metres measured at 1 metre above the ground, its age was estimated at over 900 years — the ICAS assessment indicating 923 years. This means the tree was already alive at the founding of the Voivodate of Transylvania. Its dimensions are impressive: the trunk has a diameter of nearly 3 metres, and at least eight people are needed to encircle it with their arms. Its height is approximately 21 metres, with a beautifully rounded crown. Remarkably, the tree has no neighbour within a radius of more than 100 metres, and its germination capacity is comparable to that of an oak of only 100 years. For its protection, a fence has been erected around the tree at a distance of 150 metres, and visitors arriving by car must park approximately 400 metres away and continue on foot. The area also includes the Natura 2000 site Dealurile Homoroadelor. Local residents organise an annual "Oak Day" (Ziua Stejarului), featuring a mountain running race (Gorun Trail), a traditional products fair, and documentary film screenings.
Satul Mercheașa, comuna Homorod, județul Brașov