Seven historic trees located in the Polish city of Ostroleka are now named after characters from The Witcher series. The trees in question are centuries-old, and Ostroleka’s city council was looking for ways to have them seen as “natural monuments” so that they would be protected well into the future. According to Gaming Bible, the city’s youth council came up with the idea of naming them after characters from The Witcher, as both a way to “raise their rank in the public awareness,” and “to honour a world-famous work that brought fame to Polish culture and literature.” Six of the trees are English oaks, while one is a common ash.
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The common ash is named after Regis, while the six English oaks have been named after Geralt of Rivia, Cirilla, Yennefer of Vengerberg, Vesemir, Triss Merigold, and Dandelion. Fans of the Netflix series probably know Dandelion better as Jaskier, the bard that sings “Toss a Coin to Your Witcher.” The character was renamed for the streaming series, but the tree will bear his original name.
The movement was given the blessing of writer Andrzej Sapkowski, and passed the city council vote by a wide margin. Two members abstained from the vote, while one decried the fact that these names are not actually Polish, and that the names of female characters would be given to male trees, citing “political correctness.”
While not everyone embraced the decision, it is interesting to see the massive impact Sapkowski’s books have had on Poland! The Witcher books have long maintained a faithful audience, but the video games developed by CD Projekt Red and the series from Netflix have clearly brought more interest to these works. It remains to be seen if this effort by Ostroleka’s city council will preserve these trees long into the future, but it is a clever decision that could make a difference. It’s a noble effort, and at the very least, it could inspire some fans of The Witcher to visit the town just to see these trees!
What do you think of this town naming trees after The Witcher? Do you think this will help preserve the trees into the future? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!
