Today, on 21 Fructidor, we celebrate the wild rose! In the French Republican Calendar, today is Églantier day, which is translated in the English version of the calendar as “wild rose.” Though, upon closer inspection, it seems as though it translates to wild rose generally but also to rosa canina / “dog rose” specifically. In truly amazing news, a cathedral in Hildesheim, Germany claims to have a “thousand-year rose” growing in its courtyard. And… it’s a dog rose. It is believed to have been planted in 815 and is found in early depictions of the cathedral. Here is a lovely video of the Tausendjährige Rosenstock in bloom.

The legend of the rose bush, according to the UNESCO, site naming the Cathedral a World Heritage Site and to Wikipedia is as follows: In 815 Emperor Louis the Pious, son of Charlemagne, became lost and disoriented while hunting in the Hercynian Forest. While deer hunting, he became separated from the other hunters and his horse. He searched for the hunting party and in his search came upon a mound covered with wild rose. He was carrying a reliquary containing relics of the Virgin Mary and prayed over them before falling asleep. When he woke, the blooming rose bush was covered in snow even though it was the middle of summer. His reliquary was covered in ice and stuck to the branches of the rose bush. When his hunting party finally found the Emperor, he pledged to build a cathedral on that spot to honor the Virgin Mary. The cathedral was built in a way to protect the rose which now grows at the apse.

In 1945, the city was bombed by the Allies and the Cathedral was completely destroyed. Seven weeks after the bombing, several sprouts were found growing from the roots of the rose bush. The Cathedral was rebuilt and the rose grows there to this day.

Thanks to Rose Levy Beranbaum, I was able to convince myself to use yet another amazing Nordic Ware pan – the rose-shaped bundt pan. Here is Rose’s full recipe, excerpted from The Baking Bible. Enjoy!