Pi de les Tres Branques

Historia

Pi de les Tres Branques is a dead pine tree located in the countryside near the town of Berga in north-central Catalonia, Spain. It has long been regarded by some Catalan nationalists as representing the unity of the three "Catalan Countries" and is the site of regular political-cultural gatherings.The tree has been dead since 1915 and is in poor structural condition, due in part to politically-motivated vandalism, but there is a very similar living tree a short distance away known as Pi Jove de les Tres Branques ("the young three-branched pine"), which is regarded as its successor. Both are protected as "monumental trees" by the Catalan government.SituationThe tree is a Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris), tall, and as its name suggests, consists of three main branches or trunks rising from a common base. It is located in the centre of the Campllong plain, which measures about by and occupies the flat floor of a valley, surrounded by forested mountains of the Pre-Pyrenees, at an altitude of. To the south, separating the valley from Berga town, is the ridge, home to the religious complex, and to the north are the Rasos de Peguera mountains and ski resort. Berga is away by road.The tree previously dominated the valley's farmed and grazed land, due to its height and full foliage, and was visible from a long distance, as is shown in old photographs. However, much of the surrounding land has now been taken over by forest, and Pi de les Tres Branques now has many other trees in its vicinity, which, together with its current skeletal form, make it much less visible than before.