sentences:  The trunk section is tall and is held in place by five iron bands; the iron bears the date 1575 and the initials HB, presumably for Hans Buettinger, the house owner who had the iron replaced.The tree was a forked spruce which started to grow around 1400 and was felled in approximately 1440, as was revealed by examination in 1975.There was regrowth in the middle of the trunk after blows from an axe.