North Tower - Schloss Drachenburg

17
Ulmenallee/Elm Tree Avenue
A straight thoroughfare leads from the Bergtor to the Schloss
Drachenburg complex along the retaining wall. This thoroughfare
was formerly fl anked with elm trees ... and now it is again.
A deciduous tree with serrated oval-shaped leaves, the
elm is mostly native to the moderate zones of the northern
hemisphere. The two best-known varieties are the fi eld elm
and the mountain elm. It is a fair assumption that the fi rst
elms planted along the avenue in the Schloss Drachenburg
Park were fi eld elms since these tend to grow more slender
in shape and are thus more suited for setting out in a small
avenue than the sturdy mountain elms which fl ourish better
as solitary trees.
Elms everywhere have been badly affected by the “Dutch elm
disease”. A parasitical fungus known as ophiostoma ulmi
and spread by the elm bark beetle causes blockages in the
wood tissue. In that process, the supply of water and nutrition
is disrupted and the branches die off.
From about 1918 onward, this fungus came from East Asia
via the Netherlands and spread throughout Europe. The elms
in the Schloss Drachenburg Park had to be felled in the 1930s,
when the St Michael‘s Catholic Boarding School had its
premises here.
As part of the overall restoration process, our Elm Tree Avenue
was replanted in 2010. This time round a variety resistant to
Dutch elm disease was used – the Ulmus Regal hybrid elm
cultivar which resembles the fi eld elm in habitus and is remarkable
for its rich yellow-orange colouring in autumn.
View of the castle from the
south east, Elm Tree Avenue
planted with elms, extract from
a photo taken circa 1883/1884
Castle with Elm Tree Avenue in
full foliage above the retaining
wall, extract from a postcard
dating from circa 1902.
Trees in Elm Tree Avenue being
felled, presumably due to Dutch
elm disease
Photo from the 1930s