You can find a forest in northwestern Poland. With about 400 pine trees, this could be a fairly normal forest. The fact is, however, that not all trees grow straight. There are a number of these pine trees that grow in an unnatural arc. That is why this is also known as the crooked forest or Crooked Forest. The big questions are; was this a natural reaction or did humans interfere? Why haven’t all trees grown crooked?
Gryfino city
The town of Gryfino is located south of Sczecin by the river Regalica which flows into the Oder and Gryfino counted in 2005; 21,584 inhabitants. The Gryfino forest can be found next to this city and at first glance, this looks like a normal forest. Until you see the unusual trees and still have to look twice to make sure your eyes aren’t fooling you. The trees of this crooked forest were probably planted around 1930, but many people doubt that it wasn’t 30 years later. For about seven to ten years they just grew straight up into the air, as we are used to from trees. The reason that they continued to grow skewed afterwards could be anything. In the village itself there are various theories about what may have happened to the trees, but no one is sure.
Natural cause
One possibility could be that there is a magnetic subfield there. This would cause the trees to soak up magnetic water, pulling the top towards the ground. If this happens to young trees, they can grow crooked. It may also have to do with gravity, which in this place pulls the trees differently. For example, even the strength of the wind can determine the direction of trees and plants, but whether the wind has such strong developments in its range is the question. There is also the question why the trees have continued to grow in a neat arc. None of this explains why not, all trees have started to grow crooked.
Snow
It may have been a violent snowstorm, covering the entire forest with snow. This stunted growth and after a long period of thawing, the trees continued to grow again. The weight of snow pressing on the roots for a long time can force trees to grow crookedly. If it also remains frozen until early spring, it can strongly affect growth. Maybe the snow would not have covered all the trees, so that trees could continue to grow straight. A curious fact remains that the leaning trees are very similar and you would rather expect them to grow in all directions.
Human cause
Human interference with the growth of the trees could come from putting bags of sand on the young roots and removing the extra branches. The purpose of this could be the production of wood for boats, among other things. It may be that when the second world war broke out, people simply forgot the manipulated trees. Harvesting the trees has of course been neglected. Whether the trees were actually planned in 1930 is also quite debatable. Some people think that the trees were planned in 1960 or 1980, because they don’t look that old yet. The possibility that they have forgotten the trees by the Second World War is of course no longer valid.
Accidentally or on purpose
Whoever did this must have known what he was doing. The trees can die quickly if this is done incorrectly. The heavy method of laying on the roots of young trees is a well-known method. So the question remains here; why they didn’t harvest the trees? It may be that they simply could not be harvested anymore, because in the meantime it had become a national Polish forest. There are claims that people have inadvertently performed this with tanks. Even during WWII, when German tanks drove over the saplings in their haste to get to Berlin. Snow and mud could have kept the trees alive, after which they continued to grow in an arc.