Votický javor

A solitary sycamore on the old gallows hill south of Votice — planted, legend says, roots-up to prove a condemned woman's innocence; runner-up Tree of the Year 2005.

The Votický javor stands alone on Polský vrch, the bare pasture hill south of Votice where the town gallows once stood. The legend is the kind this landscape produces: a condemned Romani woman asked for a maple planted roots-upward — if it grew, her innocence would be proven. It grew. The tree standing there today is over a century old, 19 m tall, and came second in the national Tree of the Year poll in 2005.

Solitary trees make the best viewpoints, and this one delivers: from the bench beneath it the view runs over Votice and the rolling Podblanicko, with the Brdy on the horizon in clear weather.