Our world is a place full of surprises. We cannot guess what we will meet or see next in the outdoors. It also makes us curious about our surroundings.
But what if nature does not make sense, or we cannot figure out why something is the way it is?
Does not that make you go crazy?
That is what happens with scientists, tourists, and locals of Nowe Czarnowo in western Poland when they see a grove of pine trees sharply bending at their bases like a C-shape.
But what made these trees grow this way?
People have come up with many theories for decades, but none of them have been proven. Let us explore some possible explanations for this unique phenomenon in this article.
Table of Contents
Who or what is behind the 400 deformed trees?
The amazing natural monument we discuss today is known as the Crooked Forest or Krzywy Las in Polish. You can find about 400 question mark-shaped pine trees near Gryfino town, West Pomerania, in north-western Poland. These trees were planted in 1930. Each pine tree bends to the north, just above the ground, then curves back upright after going sideways for about 3 to 9 feet. They can grow about 50 feet tall.
What surrounds these weird-shaped trees?
That is right. They are surrounded by a forest of straight pines. It makes them more unique.
However, the crooked forest is not the only place in the world with weirdly shaped trees. You can find other examples of twisted, bent, or spiral trees in different countries, such as the Dancing Forest in Russia, the Drunken Trees in Alaska, or the Tree Shaping in Australia.
So, how is this Crooked Forest different?
It is different because all the trees in the forest are curved in the same direction and at the same height. Other deformed trees have knots or scars on their trunks, but these crooked tree trunks are smooth.
Theories behind the deformation
No one has a proven answer for why the trees are crooked, but many theories and speculations exist.
Gravitational pull?
Some people think a special gravitational pull made the trees curve northwards. But that does not make much sense because gravity pulls things down, not sideways.
Heavy snowfall?
Others suggest that heavy snowfall might have weighed down the trees when they were young and made them crooked. But then why did not other plants in the area grow the same way?
Cartwheel rims?
Some even think the trees were grown to be shaped into cartwheel rims due to the grain direction, creating strong wood.
Human manipulation?
This seems to be the most likely explanation for these tree’s mystery. Did humans bend them on purpose? Back in 1930, it was pretty common for farmers to bend young trees into shapes to build things. For example, the curved timber was perfect for shipbuilding because it fitted the ship’s shape. That is probably why so many trees in the Crooked Forest have the same weird shape.
But here’s the twist: all the trees are not bent, and no one knows who did it, when they did it, why they did it, or why they stopped. Did something interrupt their plan? Maybe World War II or other events interrupted their plans? It’s possible that World War II disrupted the project. Reforestation in Poland paper discusses the history of reforestation in Poland.
When Germany invaded Poland, the farmers probably had to stop bending trees. Gryfino town was destroyed after Germany invaded Poland in 1939. So, the farmers could not look after the trees or cut them down for use. They just left them to grow in their groovy, crooked way for decades. Is the truth lost in time?
Remember, there is no strong evidence for any of these theories. Crooked Forest in Poland is still a mystery to the world.
Conclusion
The weird shapes in Poland’s crooked forest are famous for attracting tourists and leaving scientists questions. Isn’t it unique that only about 400 pine trees have this weird curve at the bottom?
And they all point north. No one is really sure why he or she is like that. The most plausible explanation suggests that it was a human manipulation done by some farmers back in the day to build ships. This cultural heritage leaves all of us amazed and curious at the same time.
Will the mystery behind these tree shapes ever be solved?
No one knows.