Once upon a time, in the deep dark forests of Prussian Holstein, there lived a forester. Herr Oberforstmeister (Senior Forest Warden) Ohrt was his name, and he had a daughter.
Upon that very same time, way down in Saxony, there lived a famous chocolatier, whose confectionery and cafe in Leipzig were so luxurious that they rivalled the ones in Paris and Vienna. Herr Schütte-Felsche was his name and he had a son.
And the forester’s daughter and the chocolatier’s son were in love. Alas, the parents did not approve of this liaison, so the lovers kept their romance alive through letters, deposited in the hollow of an old oak tree.
There is a happy end, because the forester finally gave his blessing and the two were wedded right under the tree on June 2nd, 1891.
Of course, one could wonder how did a young Leipziger dandy meet the daughter of a woodman. Or how often was it even possible to see each other or to secretly correspond via tree, when the average two-horse stagecoach travelled 16 km an hour and there’s roughly 500km between Leipzig and the said forest.
However, although the Schütte-Felsche family history does not mention this adventure, there must be some truth to it, because ever since then, people have seen the tree as a romantic spot and started depositing their own correspondence in the hollow. So much so, that the tree received its own postal address in 1927.
It’s Bräutigamseiche, Dodau Forst, 23701 Eutin.
Bridegroom’s Oak’s purpose changed a little, and from mere letterbox, now it can claim the title of matchmaking tree. Every day the postman comes to deliver letters to the tree hole. They come from all over the world, from people who are looking for a very romantic love story. It works, too. There are reports of around 10 marriages and many other romances that happened as a result of this curious and quirky blind communication method.
And if the Deutsche Post says it is true, then it must be so!
Funnily enough, even the oak tree found love… or rather has found himself in an arranged marriage with a chestnut tree in Düsseldorf, only 503 km away. However, the oak from Dodau forest is now a widower, because the chestnut has been severed in her prime (literally), at only 200 years of age, due to a fungal infection.
Speaking of numbers, our matchmaking postal oak is around 500 years old himself, and around 25 meters high. Its “letterbox” is about 3m high and it can be reached by a sturdy ladder.
It’s a public letter box, so technically anyone can open and read the letters, since they are like a message in a bottle. Finders readers. There were a couple of freshly delivered letters when we got there, but reading them felt slightly like an invasion of privacy, so we just looked at the envelopes. This one, for example, came all the way from Phoenix, USA. (Address blurred for the sake of privacy.)
So if you ever want to find your soul mate in a very veryold school way, drop a line to Bridegroom’s Oak’s letterbox in Dodau forest, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.
Should you be in the area, make a pit stop, too. Maybe you will read a nice story and find a pen pal or even more.
And if you need to see exactly where it is, check out our map. Zoom in on Northern Germany, lake area between Lübeck and Kiel. Or just input Dodau* 99, Dodau Forsthaus, 23701 Eutin into your GPS.
*And don’t laugh when it pronounces it “dodó“ 🙂
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