Tilleul de Sully de Saint-Aupre

Saint-Aupre

The lime of Saint-Aupre is a large-leaved lime, Tilia platyphyllos, 6.30 m in girth at 1.30 m from the ground and 16 m high, straight, and of a stability the arborist who examined it judges excellent. It is one of those trees said to be 'of Sully': tradition has it that Henri IV's minister ordered, in the early 17^th century, that a tree be planted in every village of France, and the limes of church squares have kept the name. No text of Sully's attests it, and most of the limes of the Isère that bear this title do not stand up to examination: the Têtards arboricoles, who have reviewed the old limes of the department, hold only two to be authentic, by oral tradition, one of which, at Saint-Martin-le-Vinoux, was felled in 2002; that of Saint-Aupre would therefore be the sole survivor, and the commune gives it 418 years. The proof remains an oral tradition, but it agrees with the dimensions of the tree. People like to connect its planting with the fair of Saint-Mathieu, which a royal letter of 1604 reorganises in a neighbouring hamlet; the local monograph urges caution. It appears on the commune's logo. Its crown was lightened in 1993; after a diagnosis in 2021, the commune enlarged its rooting space, checked its guy-ropes and built a low wall. It is alive, in good health according to the expert, and received the Arbre remarquable de France label in 2023.

Commune de Saint-Aupre — Le Tilleul de Sully ↗

Getting there : From Voiron, the road to Saint-Laurent-du-Pont then Saint-Aupre; the tree is in the centre of the village, on the small square laid out around it, in front of the church, freely accessible. The visit takes a few minutes; the Chartreuse regional nature park begins at the village gate.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound