Storm downs tree that cheered Anne Frank

Associated Press

AMSTERDAM

The monumental chestnut tree that cheered Anne Frank while she was in hiding from the Nazis was toppled by wind and heavy rain Monday.

The once-mighty tree, now diseased and rotted through the trunk, snapped about 3 feet above ground and crashed across several gardens. It damaged a brick wall and several sheds, but nearby buildings — including the Anne Frank House museum — escaped unscathed. No one was injured, Maatje Mostart, a museum spokeswoman, said.

A global campaign to save the chestnut, widely known as The Anne Frank Tree, was launched in 2007 after city officials deemed it a safety hazard and ordered it felled. The tree was granted a last-minute reprieve after a battle in court.

The 150-year-old tree suffered from fungus and moths that had caused more than half its trunk to rot.

Two years ago, city workmen encased the trunk in a steel support system to prevent it from falling, but that failed under windy weather Monday.

The Netherlands’ Trees Institute, one of the most prominent supporters of the preservation project, said it was “unpleasantly surprised” by the news of the tree’s fall Monday.

Many clones of the tree have been taken, including 11 planted at sites around the United States and dozens more around Europe.

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