The tree for Brno Christmas 2025 is a silver fir. The tree is being donated to the city by the Masaryk Forest Křtiny School Forest Enterprise of Mendel University in Brno (ŠLP Křtiny), which manages the university’s forests. On November 15, it will be transported to the city in the traditional manner, from the Myslivna lišky Bystroušky hunting lodge by a horse-drawn carriage. Foresters estimate the age of the twenty-meter-high fir tree to be 80 years. The tree is being donated by Mendel University through the Czech Red Cross.
The tree, selected together with representatives of the Tourist Information Center, which organizes Brno Christmas, grew for decades in the Habrůvka ŠLP Křtiny forest district. The white-barked Christmas fir is twenty meters tall and reaches a diameter of 40 centimeters at a height of 130 centimeters, known as breast height.
“It is a beautiful tree, evenly grown in all directions, which is not entirely common in the forest, as trees in the forest are often shaded on one side by one of their neighbors, and then there are simply no branches there. In the case of this fir tree, it just worked out,” described Petra Packová from ŠLP Křtiny.
The school forest enterprise workers estimate the age of the fir tree to be around 80 years. They will know for sure once the tree is felled. Then they will be able to count the growth rings and determine its exact age.
From a technical point of view, felling, loading, and transporting the tree is a demanding operation. “A crane has to come and grab it at a height of about five meters from the top and hold it in a vertical position throughout the felling process so that the 20-meter tree does not fall uncontrollably to the ground. This would destroy it and break its branches. Once grasped in this way, the tree needs to be shortened to a height of 12 meters so that it can be transported on a cart. Finally, all the branches must be carefully tied down, both so that we don’t break them on the way and so that we don’t endanger passing cars during transport. A truck will transport the tree to Myslivna lišky Bystroušky in the Bílovice forest district, where we will say goodbye to it on November 15 and send it on its way to Brno,” said Packová, describing the preparation and transport.
Fir trees were historically quite abundant in domestic forests. In the nineteenth century, probably in connection with the industrial revolution and deteriorating air quality, it began to disappear from the forests. The school forest enterprise is trying to increase the presence of silver fir in university forests. “For example, there are beautiful fir forests in Klepačov that are worth visiting. It is interesting to note that fir trees can grow for many years in the shade, and when you release them, they suddenly start to grow very quickly. Fir trees, together with yews, are among our most shade-loving trees,” explained Petra Packová.
Silver fir is an interesting tree for other reasons as well. “The branches of the silver fir are easy to recognize. They have flat needles, and on the other side, you can see two white bands of stomata, which make them easy to identify. I recommend rubbing the needles between your fingers. You will smell a wonderful citrus scent,” added the forest educator.
The Christmas tree from the forests of Mendel University will be lit on Svobody Square on Friday, November 21, at 5:00 p.m.
In addition to the Christmas tree on Svobody Square, the school forest enterprise has been supplying Christmas trees to households for many years. Those interested will be able to purchase them again this year on the weekend of December 13-14 at one of the enterprise’s three forest districts. Since 2024, ŠLP Křtiny has also been part of the Christmas Trees in Pots project organized by the Veronica Foundation. Fir trees purchased in winter can be returned to the forests of MENDELU in the spring of the following year.
For more information, please contact: Ing. Petra Packová Ph.D., arboretum manager and forest educator at the Masaryk Forest Křtiny School Forest Enterprise, +420 778 782 728, email petra.packova@slpkrtiny.cz