Set in the City Hall Square, this is a true original sap from the ral lindentree planted nearby celebrating the end of "The Murten Battle".
One of the best known trees in Switzerland - because it has a story attached - is the Murten lime, or linden. It is not in fact in the little town of Murten (Morat in French) but 17 km (10.5 miles) away in Fribourg. It commemorates the Battle of Murten in 1476, in which Bernese-led troops smashed the army of Charles the Bold of Burgundy. The legend says that a messenger grabbed a small branch from a tree on the battlefield, and waved it as a sign of victory as he ran with the good news all the way to Fribourg, where he collapsed. The branch took root on the very spot.
Sadly, the story is unlikely to be true, since it seems that the tree is - or was - even older than the battle. But it met an inglorious end in 1983, when a drunken motorist rammed into it. However, it still lives on, thanks to a cutting taken from the mangled remains and planted out of harm's way. As for the heroic messenger, he is remembered every year on the first Sunday in October, when some 8000 sportsmen and women retrace his steps in the Murten run.
