Very close to the German Wine Route (B 271 between Herxheim and Kallstadt), this is a silver willow from 1740 with a very eventful life and an irrepressible will to live.
This eventful history can be read very nicely on the information board (with great photos!). Brief summary (partially taken verbatim) as follows:
The name of the silver pasture came about after 1794, when Emperor Napoleon's French troops passed the pasture several times on what was then the "Landstrasse" (today's Weinstrasse) while they occupied Herxheim am Berg until the Bavarian takeover in 1816. According to oral tradition, Emperor Napoleon is said to have even taken a small break with vespers under the willow.
In 1992, however, the willow met a tragic fate, because the willow tree, which was privately owned by the Herxheim winegrower family Kalsch, was improperly cut down to the stump by employees of the Grünstadt road maintenance department. The owner of the tree filed a criminal complaint; a long court case followed.
And it got even worse: Immediately after felling, the sawn-off tree stump caught fire, probably from a discarded cigarette, and was severely damaged again. Only through the courageous intervention of the owner (with 2 tons of extinguishing water) could the final death of the pasture be prevented.
And the good news: the following year, 1993, the charred tree stump miraculously sprouted again and then recovered.
After land consolidation, this natural monument, which is more than 280 years old, now belongs to the municipality of Herxheim am Berg - and has once again reached a very impressive height and size!