Kul’tavyja drevy v Belarusi<br>Die Kultbäume in Weissrußland</br>

Abstract

Trees represent a universal symbol in the mythological model of the world, a symbol that unites all spheres of the cosmos. Belorussians had a very extended tree cult, of which they tell legends even today. They were accustomed to offer gifts to the trees and to pray alongside them. They held oaks to be most sacred, particulary those that formed part of a sanctuary together with the spring and the cult s tone. These oaks have conserved their names through to the present: Old Oak, Three-edge Oak, Perun's Oak, Deweitis, Sacred Oak, etc. Pine and linden trees were also greatly favored. There also exist legends concerning pear trees, poplar trees, birch trees and willow trees.