Dicke Marie: Berlin's Oldest Oak, Up to 900 Years Old

At the northern tip of the Tegeler See, in the Reinickendorf neighbourhood, there's a tree older than Berlin itself. It's called the Dicke Marie, it is a pedunculate oak (Quercus robur) and estimates of its age range from 500 to 900 years: in any case it was already a mature tree when, around 1237, the first medieval settlement rose nearby. It measures 26 metres in height and its trunk has a circumference of nearly 7 metres, so much that it takes several people with outstretched arms to embrace it. Since 2021 it has been recognised as a national natural monument.

The origin of the name

The name has a curious history, though more legend than record. It is said that it was given to it by Wilhelm and Alexander von Humboldt, the two brothers raised at nearby Schloss Tegel: as boys, exploring the forest, they were reportedly struck by the bulk of the trunk and named it after their cook, a robust woman nicknamed precisely "Dicke Marie" (Fat Marie). In reality there is no written proof of this origin, and it seems the name was only adopted and made official by the local authorities between the late 1980s and the 1990s. It's also said that Goethe came to see it. These are handed-down anecdotes, but the point remains concrete: this oak has crossed centuries of the history of the March of Brandenburg while standing in the same spot.

Getting there

Getting there is easy and part of the pleasure. The natural starting point is the Greenwichpromenade in Tegel, the lakeside walk from which the boats for the Tegeler See also set sail. From there you take the path north, along the shore, and within a few minutes on foot you enter the Tegeler Forst. The tree stands near An der Malche, at the northern point of the lake, and is well signposted. It's an easy, flat walk, suitable even for those with children or who don't want demanding hikes.

The tree

What you see, once you arrive, is exactly a very old and very large tree: the thick, furrowed bark, the main branches now propped up and supported for safety reasons, the wounds of time that the forest has closed over in its own way. It is not a built attraction, there's no ticket office or spectacular fence. It is a living being that lets itself be observed, and precisely for that it's worth stopping for a few minutes in silence before moving on.

When to go

It remains a place known almost only to Berliners, thanks to its location off to the side of the tourist centre. It's worth combining it with a broader visit to the area: Schloss Tegel, a boat trip on the lake, or the nearby Humboldt-Eiche, another historic oak of the forest. The best period runs from spring to autumn, when the lakeside path is dry and the crown is full: in late spring and early autumn you walk with the finest light and fewer people on the promenade.