--- title: "Brest u Papají: the memorial elm in Makov's coat of arms" description: "Brest u Papají above Makov is among the oldest elms in central Europe. Find out how big it is, how old it may be and why it is in the village's arms." url: "https://zpusteven.cz/en/brest-u-papaji" lang: "en" latitude: 49.3477386 longitude: 18.429782 --- ![Looking up into the crown of an old elm: the massive forking of the moss-covered trunk, yellow bracket fungi on the bark, blue sky showing between the leaves](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/brest/1280/IMG_7129.avif) Protected tree • Makov, the U Papají settlement • 720 m a.s.l. # Brest u Papají One of the oldest elms in central Europe. - **Age:** about 400 years - **Trunk girth:** 676 cm - **Height:** about 30 m - **Protected since:** 1973 ## A tree that stands for the village In the U Papají settlement, in the part of [Makov](https://zpusteven.cz/en/makov) called Kopanice, a **field elm** grows by a cottage - according to the Kysuce PLA Administration one of the oldest elms in central Europe. Since **1995** it has been part of Makov's coat of arms. - **girth at the roots:** over 11 m - **altitude:** 720 m a.s.l. - **the year the arms were adopted:** 1995 ![Looking up the elm's trunk: two large yellow fruiting bodies of wood-decay fungi growing out of the bark, moss-covered bark, a Chránený strom plate lower down and a cavity with bare wood on the right](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/brest/1280/IMG_7135.avif) Why come here ### An age you can put your arms round Few elms this old are left in Europe - since the 20th century the species has been decimated by **Dutch elm disease**. According to the Kysuce PLA Administration this one is **among the oldest in central Europe**. When to come ### All year, as you prefer The tree is visible without leaves from autumn to April - and that is also when it flowers, in **March and April**. Through the summer the crown hides it, but in **May and June** the seeds ripen and fall. One more thing ### Four roots in the village arms Makov has the tree in its arms: **a golden elm with four roots** on a blue shield. The roots stand for the parts of the village - **Čierne, Potok, Kopanice and Trojačka** - and the same number of massive branches stands for the four tributaries of the river Kysuca. ## The story of the tree in Makov's coat of arms First a tree by a house. Then a tree that outlived the houses. In the end a tree that stands for the village. Kopanice ### Build a house, plant a tree The U Papají settlement is one of the kopanice chotáry scattered across the slopes above [Makov](https://zpusteven.cz/en/makov). The village memorial book puts its beginning in **1521**, when two families - **the Pápays and the Lábays** - are said to have come here across the White Carpathians. One settled below the ridge towards Kysučné, the other towards Semeteš; both settlements are named after them. A custom is tied to this part of the Javorníky that the whole story of the tree rests on: **a tree was planted beside every newly built log cottage**. It was to protect the house from the elements and at the same time served as **a measure of its age** - the taller the tree, the older the house. It was in exactly that period, some time in the 16th century, that the elm at Papaje was planted, judging by the estimate of its age. The houses around it have been replaced since then; the elm stayed and **became the measure of age itself** - not for one house, though, but for the whole settlement. ![The whole mature elm from foot to crown: a furrowed trunk with a cavity at ground level, a broad pale green crown, a cottage with a fence, a woodshed and wooded slopes behind the tree](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/brest/1280/IMG_7138.avif) The tree from foot to crown. Behind it the building it grows beside - and that neighbourly relation is where its whole story comes from. The village arms ### Four roots, four parts of Makov **The arms show a golden elm with four roots on a blue shield** - each root standing for one part of the village: **Čierne, Potok, Kopanice and Trojačka**. Its massive branches come to the same number: they stand for the four equal tributaries of the river Kysuca that run down from those parts. The design came out of a public competition the village held in 1994 with the Kysucké múzeum v Čadci - from **217 entries by 185 authors** the jury chose the motif of the river Kysuca and the protected tree, which the academic sculptor Milan Greguš, a native of [the Greguše settlement](https://zpusteven.cz/en/osada-greguse), worked into the arms. The village council adopted the arms on **23 March 1995**, and a few weeks later the Heraldic Commission of the Ministry of the Interior of the Slovak Republic approved them as well. - **roots = parts of the village:** 4 - **branches = tributaries of the Kysuca:** 4 - **the year the arms were adopted:** 1995 ![The coat of arms of Makov: a golden elm with four roots on a blue shield](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/SVK_Makov_COA.svg) Foto: [Finono, Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SVK%5FMakov%5FCOA.svg), [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) #### Brest, or jilm? They are the same thing. “Brest” is the Slovak name of the genus that Czech calls jilm and English elm. Specifically this is brest hrabolistý (Ulmus carpinifolia, now listed as Ulmus minor) - the field elm. A one-off ### A tree growing where its species does not **The trunk measures 676 centimetres in girth** at 130 cm above the ground - a figure published by the Kysuce PLA Administration in 2024. At the roots the girth is **over 11 metres** and the tree is **around 30 metres** tall. Its age is estimated at 400 years, and according to the Administration it is among the oldest field elms in central Europe. The position itself is unusual too. **The field elm is a tree of the lowlands** - it belongs in river floodplains and on the alluvium of large rivers, usually at **400 to 500 metres above sea level**. This one grows a good **two hundred metres higher**, on a kopanice hillside - where a wych elm would be more expected. Old elms are a rarity in Europe. Since the 20th century they have been decimated by Dutch elm disease - an illness that has cut their numbers right across the continent. ![A close view of the massive moss-covered trunk with a green enamel plate bearing the Slovak state emblem and the words Chránený strom in the middle, an open cavity in the trunk on the right](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/brest/1280/IMG_7133.avif) The state “Chránený strom” plate on the trunk. Condition and care ### What a four-hundred-year-old trunk can carry Brest u Papají has been protected since **1973** - by a resolution of the council of the then Okresný národný výbor v Čadci it was entered in the state register as a **protected natural formation**, and a **protection zone** was declared around the trunk - a circle ten metres in radius set aside purely for the roots. **In December 2005** snow bent the elm's crown so far that several branches broke off it. **In the spring of 2006** the tree was therefore treated and its crown balanced. The village looks after the surroundings - there are information panels, benches on the meadow, a footbridge over the brook and paths right up to the tree. The age shows on the tree. There are cavities where branches have broken off, and the fruiting bodies of wood-decay fungi on the bark. The village survey does not conceal the elm's condition: it puts the tree's social value at **just under 13,000 euros** and its damage in the band of 26 to 60 per cent. The elm is marked, but alive. ![Looking up into the crown of an old elm: the massive forking of the moss-covered trunk, yellow bracket fungi on the bark, blue sky showing between the leaves](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/brest/1280/IMG_7129.avif) The fruiting bodies of wood-decay fungi on the bark - one of the marks of age that the village survey takes into account. Timeline ## From a kopanice log cottage to the village arms 1. 1521 ### The memorial book dates the settlement The Makov memorial book puts the beginning of the U Papají settlement in 1521 - two families, **the Pápays and the Lábays**, settle below the Javorníky ridge. 2. 16th century ### The tree is planted The estimate of **about 400 years** dates the planting to precisely the time when these slopes were being settled and a tree was planted beside every new log cottage. 3. 20 April 1973 ### Declared a protected tree A resolution of the council of the district national committee (ONV) at Čadca (no. 86/1973) enters the tree in the state register as a **protected natural formation** with a protection zone **10 metres** in radius. 4. 23 March 1995 ### The tree in the village arms The village council adopts arms with a **golden elm with four roots** - the design by the academic sculptor Milan Greguš came out of a public competition held in 1994. 5. December 2005 ### Damage by snow Under the weight of snow **several branches of the crown are damaged**. 6. spring 2006 ### The crown treated **Treatment and balancing of the crown** follow - work meant to reduce the risk of further breakage. 7. today ### The tree lives on Marked but alive - the elm at Papaje goes on growing and remains the measure of the settlement's age. Visit ## To the U Papají settlement ### Where exactly it is #### The U Papají settlement, in the Makov-Kopanice part The tree grows at **720 metres** above sea level by a cottage in the settlement of **U Papají**, which belongs to the village part of **Kopanice**. A protection zone is declared around the tree - a circle ten metres in radius. The surroundings are looked after: benches, information panels, a footbridge over the brook and paths. ##### Otevřít v mapách [Mapy.com](https://mapy.com/en/zakladni?x=18.429782&y=49.3477386&z=17&source=coor&id=18.429782,49.3477386) · [Google Maps](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=49.3477386,18.429782) ##### Other places nearby [Chapel on Kršlisko](https://zpusteven.cz/chapel-on-krslisko) · [The source of the Kysuca](https://zpusteven.cz/en/pramen-kysuce) · [The Greguše settlement](https://zpusteven.cz/en/osada-greguse) · [The Partisan](https://zpusteven.cz/partisan-memorial-makov) · [The Kasárne settlement](https://zpusteven.cz/en/osada-kasarne) · [Veľký Javorník](https://zpusteven.cz/en/velky-javornik) · [The Tripoint](https://zpusteven.cz/en/trojmezi) Map of the area ### How to get here From [Makov](https://zpusteven.cz/en/makov) you drive **towards Kopanice**: turn left off the main road across the bridge, left again at the first junction beyond the shop, and on for about a kilometre and a half. The settlement is crossed by **waymarked walking and cycling routes**, and you can also come by car. 1. 1 #### Makov, the main road start • the turning to Kopanice The turning leaves the main road to the left across a bridge. From there on it is a local road up into the hills - bear that in mind in winter. 2. 2 #### The junction beyond the shop left • about 1.5 km further Beyond the shop you turn left a second time, and the little road climbs up the valley into the kopanice houses. 3. #### The U Papají settlement - the elm destination • 720 m a.s.l. The tree stands by a cottage above a meadow. You will know it at once: it is the only one this massive among the houses, and it carries the state “Chránený strom” plate on its trunk. The nearest stop is **Makov, Kopanice, Papaje**, about 350 metres from the tree - so you can get here by public transport as well. From the stop you walk along the little road through the settlement; you will find current connections in CP.sk. ### What to know before you go #### On foot, by bike, by bus or by car **Waymarked walking and cycling routes** pass through the settlement. You can come by car or by bus. From the bus stop to the tree is about 350 metres on foot. #### Nearest facilities By the tree there are **benches, panels and paths**. Refreshments and toilets are down in Makov. #### When the tree is most interesting **In March and April it flowers before it comes into leaf**, and in **May and June** the seeds ripen and fall. Without leaves (in winter and late winter) the structure of the crown and the cavities in the trunk show best. Na závěr ## Doplňující info a test znalostí ### Rychlá rekapitulace **How old is the elm at Papaje?** The Kysuce PLA Administration estimates its age at 400 years (a figure from 2024). **What makes this particular tree exceptional?** According to the Kysuce PLA Administration it is among the oldest field elms in central Europe. When measured in 2024 its trunk girth at 130 cm was 676 cm, the girth at the roots was over 11 metres and the tree was about 30 metres tall. It also grows at 720 metres above sea level, whereas its species normally occurs at 400 to 500 metres, mainly in the lowlands and on river alluvium. **How long has it been protected?** The council of the district national committee (ONV) at Čadca entered it in the state register as a protected natural formation on 20 April 1973 (resolution no. 86/1973). **What does the elm in Makov's arms mean?** The village arms show a golden elm with four roots on a blue shield. The roots stand for the four parts of Makov - Čierne, Potok, Kopanice and Trojačka - and the same number of massive branches stands for the four equal tributaries of the river Kysuca that run down from those parts. The arms were designed by the academic sculptor Milan Greguš after a public competition in 1994, and the village adopted them on 23 March 1995. **Is brest the same as jilm?** Yes. “Brest” is the Slovak name of the genus that Czech calls jilm and English elm. At Papaje it is brest hrabolistý (Ulmus carpinifolia, now Ulmus minor), the field elm. **Is the tree healthy?** It is marked by age. There are cavities in the trunk, the fruiting bodies of wood-decay fungi on the bark, and in December 2005 several branches broke under snow. The village survey puts the damage in the band of 26 to 60 per cent. --- Source: [Brest u Papají: the memorial elm in Makov's coat of arms](https://zpusteven.cz/en/brest-u-papaji) - zPusteven.cz. When citing, please link to the page.