Away the people and from the bustle of everyday life, at the edge of a dense forest wich is hundreds of years old, lies a village that you have to visit once in your life to be able to understand why life is so beautiful in Transylvania. At Mercheașa, a village which is 11 away kilometers from Rupea, people are truly hardworking, you can see this as you enter the village and if you ask them what they pride the most they will tell you loud, all in the same voice the oak tree that is 900 years old.

For almost a millennium, a tree resides outside the village, relentless to cold winters or hot summers it went through. It has over 900 years also a height of 21.3 meters. Not even four people holding hands could surround it, the circumference of the oak tree is 9.3 meters. In 2011, the villagers along with the Perșani Geopark Association enrolled it into a tree top of the oldest trees in the country and they named it « The Old Man of the Carpathians ».

With such a millennial age the legends of this old tree could not miss. Moreover, under it’s « eyes » Transylvania was born, « the country beyond the forests », fortresses and fortified churches were built, wars occurred, countries and nations have been divided. They say for example that under this centuries-old tree, many new rulers would establish the future of the nation, taking advantage of the cool shade of the oak tree.

To reach the 900 years oak tree from Mercheașa simply ask anyone in the village for the path. You will walk on a country road for about 1.8 kilometers north-east of the village and you will arrive on a plain with secular oak trees. Do not hesitate to examine the other trees, because among them lies one that is over 500 years old.