Crooked trees grow in this forest – what is its secret?

Pointedly toward the light: This is the growth direction we normally see in tree trunks. But in a forest in Poland , things are different. In the Krzywy Las (Crooked Forest), numerous trees bend in an impressive manner before growing back toward the sky. Like an inverted question mark, as if the pines were searching for answers.

This unusual forest is located in the northwest of the country, close to the German border, near the municipality of Gryfino. Various theories and attempts to explain the origin of this unusual trunk shape exist.

The year in which the forest section with the crooked trunks was created is considered relatively certain. The origin of this unusual area is said to date back to 1934, when the Prussian province of Pomerania was still part of Germany .

At that time, around 400 pine trees are said to have been planted, all of which then followed the strange growth form: their trunks arch just above the ground and then continue to grow towards the sky.

Around 100 of these specimens are still preserved today; the others have already died. The remaining specimens of this recognized natural monument still present a bizarre picture and give rise to various speculations, as it is not yet conclusively understood how the vigorous trunk growth came about.

Whenever something deviates from the norm, it's easy to find a variety of legends and theories. The "Crooked Forest" in Poland, known locally as the "fairytale forest," is no exception. The phenomenon of northward-curving trunks has been countered with both rational and unscientific attempts at explanation.

Did an alien visit cause the trees to bend? Or do electromagnetic fields and water veins explain the unusual trunk growth? Or were tanks driving through the forest in 1945 and bending the trees in their early growth phase? Heavy snowfall, which crushed the young shoots, and pests that contribute to the deformation of the trunk are also among the more or less credible theories circulating about Krzywy Las.

The most likely theory surrounding the bent trunks of pine forests is human influence. To achieve a trunk bend, the tip is cut off, and a shoot growing sideways then takes over the role of the trunk. The original lateral growth direction changes, and the branch grows skyward again, forming the bizarre curve. Such a cut could have occurred for a variety of reasons.

The mystical Krzywy Las forest in Poland.

Source: imago images/Dreamstime

One is the need for curved wood in crafts, such as for building carts, sleigh runners, or alphorns. The curvature simplifies the crafting process. Another speculation is that the top shoot was cut and sold as a Christmas tree, according to " National Geographic ." The side shoot would then have found its way into the Christmas tree stand the following year, also saving resources. But that didn't happen.

No records have ever been found to support any of these theories, so Poland's Crooked Forest remains a wonderfully mysterious place that leaves room for imagination.

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travel reporter