The Original Chortitza Oak (pronounced kor-teet-za) in Ukraine was, and still is, a symbol of life to many Mennonites who met under it’s canopy; growing and surviving in the face of many hardships. This magnificent tree was once an important meeting place to thousands of Mennonites leaving Prussia in search of a better life. At 118 feet high, and over 20 feet in circumference, it’s no wonder that this tree served as a focal point for the Ukraine community. Germinating in about 1300 BC, The Chortitza Oak witnessed 700 years of history including the death of Marco Polo in 1328, the day that Galileo proved the earth moved around the sun in 1610, sheltered Mennonite immigrants in 1789, and witnessed Napoleon’s invasion of Moscow in 1812. The oak witnessed the struggles of the Ukrainian people under Stalin’s dictatorship, and then saw the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Unfortunately, at that time, the oak also began to decline. Many Canadians can trace their roots back to the ancestors who once met beneath this tree. Over the decades, visitors to the Chortitza homeland brought back acorns and seedlings gently wrapped in handkerchiefs to grow themselves. One person who did just that was John R. Friesen, a retired minister who now serves as a lay pastor at First Mennonite Church in Winnipeg, but he was unsuccessful. Friends Abe and Eleanor Epp of Niagara-on-the-Lake, provided John and his wife with a sapling In 2006, which they donated to Canadian Mennonite University to mark their 50th wedding anniversary. The tree was planted on CMU’s south campus, near the Mennonite Heritage Centre.“To my knowledge, this is the first ‘Chortitza oak’ offspring in Winnipeg,” said Friesen, who traces his roots back to that settlement. “It will serve as a reminder of a heritage to which many of us connect.”
Sections reprinted with permission of Canadian Mennonite University
(J. Longhurst, 2006)
Other Sources:
Canadian Mennonite Vol 10, No.14, 2006
Winnipeg Free Press (June 23, 2006)

The Original Chortitza Oak (pronounced kor-teet-za) in Ukraine was, and still is, a symbol of life to many Mennonites who met under it’s canopy; growing and surviving in the face of many hardships. This magnificent tree was once an important meeting place to thousands of Mennonites leaving Prussia in search of a better life. At 118 feet high, and over 20 feet in circumference, it’s no wonder that this tree served as a focal point for the Ukraine community. Germinating in about 1300 BC, The Chortitza Oak witnessed 700 years of history including the death of Marco Polo in 1328, the day that Galileo proved the earth moved around the sun in 1610, sheltered Mennonite immigrants in 1789, and witnessed Napoleon’s invasion of Moscow in 1812. The oak witnessed the struggles of the Ukrainian people under Stalin’s dictatorship, and then saw the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Unfortunately, at that time, the oak also began to decline. Many Canadians can trace their roots back to the ancestors who once met beneath this tree. Over the decades, visitors to the Chortitza homeland brought back acorns and seedlings gently wrapped in handkerchiefs to grow themselves. One person who did just that was John R. Friesen, a retired minister who now serves as a lay pastor at First Mennonite Church in Winnipeg, but he was unsuccessful. Friends Abe and Eleanor Epp of Niagara-on-the-Lake, provided John and his wife with a sapling In 2006, which they donated to Canadian Mennonite University to mark their 50th wedding anniversary. The tree was planted on CMU’s south campus, near the Mennonite Heritage Centre.“To my knowledge, this is the first ‘Chortitza oak’ offspring in Winnipeg,” said Friesen, who traces his roots back to that settlement. “It will serve as a reminder of a heritage to which many of us connect.”
Sections reprinted with permission of Canadian Mennonite University
(J. Longhurst, 2006)
Other Sources:
Canadian Mennonite Vol 10, No.14, 2006
Winnipeg Free Press (June 23, 2006)