With all the stories about the background of Loreto's house, we must have come outside the village by now and we can already see the large lime trees from a distance.
Lime trees have always been popular trees. In ancient times they were already sacred trees, dedicated to Freya, goddess of love and fertility. It is therefore not surprising that this tree was used in Marian worship. As a result, the tree became a Maria tree. It was therefore customary to place a statue of Mary there.
Besides that, the Lime is also a very practical tree. Valued for its vigor. The wood is very suitable for carving (Mary) figurines. The leaf can be used as animal food, the Vikings made ropes from the bark. Medicinal properties are also attributed to the bark and roots.
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2A. The trees of the chapel extra
There is already talk that the chapel was built between 2 lime trees in 1680 in the “Thoorderveld” During major maintenance to the trees, a number of trees were replaced in 1981. Research by the University of Wageningen showed that the trees had 233 annual rings. So trees should have been “born” around 1750. Just in time for the chapel's first centenary in 1773. A number of "oldies" are still there today. They are included in the list of monumental trees.