Gerichtslinde near Bermoll

400 - 900 years old, reports vary widely, 9.3 m trunk circumference - that's huge.
I haven't been able to find out why the tree is called 'Gerichtslinde'.

In any case, it is worthwhile to see this mighty old tree live. When I visited, the bench was no longer in the tree. But there is a nice rest area with benches right by the lime tree.

Coming from Hohensolms/Großaltenstädten, the impressive tree is easy to reach by mountain bike. Easy-to-ride paths lead over the Wallberg, mostly through beech and oak forests. There are places to sit right next to the tree with a great view of the Lemptal. Unfortunately, there is little information about the history of this natural monument worth seeing. The impressive tree is referred to as the "court linden tree" on monumentale-eichen.de, among other places. An explanation from the University of Göttingen: The Germanic tribes believed that the linden tree had prophecy and healing powers and showed the truth. This is how it became the court tree of the Germanic tribes. The old Germanic court assembly, the Thing, took place in the open air under court linden trees in the Middle Ages. The court linden trees were usually located at prominent points in the landscape, at castles, churches or on hills. (uni-goettingen.de/de/thing-+und+gerichtslinde/41768.html)