World Art Utopia

De (B)ruilboom

De (B)ruilboom in Ruurlo: a gnarled, hollow old chestnut trunk fitted with small orange-framed book cabinets with glass doors, standing on a round brick base beside a field fence.
Artwork FileRuurlo, Netherlands

De (B)ruilboom

StandingAug 2025

René Bruns · Batsdijk and Vorsterkampweg, Ruurlo, Netherlands · 2012

Photo: Street Art Utopia archive (media 69300, 2025), as published on Street Art Utopia; photographer and capture date not recorded.

Furniture maker René Bruns fitted ten small glass-doored book cabinets into the trunk of a centuries-old sweet chestnut. The neighbourhood association of De Bruil opened it as a free book exchange in Ruurlo on 23 September 2012. Source Source Source Checked

Standing Aug 2025: Google Street View images dated August 2025 show the tree with its cabinets at the corner of Batsdijk and Vorsterkampweg (camera date). Source Checked

💡 5 things to know

  1. A gift from the castle woodsThe sweet chestnut, about 350 to 400 years old, had lain for years in the woods near the castle Huize Ruurlo; Baron van Heeckeren van Kell donated it. Source Source Checked
  2. Cut with a chainsawBruns marked each cabinet with cardboard, cut the openings out with a chainsaw and gave every space its own glass-doored bookcase, ten in all. Source Reported
  3. A neighbourhood projectBuurtvereniging De Bruil en Omstreken commissioned it; Contact Ruurlo reported that the association won 1,000 euros for the idea in the Kern met Pit competition. Source Source Checked
  4. Opened over breakfastAbout 150 neighbours met for a Burendag breakfast on Sunday 23 September 2012, and the tree was unveiled afterwards. Source Source Checked
  5. The books belong to the treeThe rules on the maker’s page: books are the tree’s property and may be borrowed for at most a month. Source Reported

📍 Where it is

At the corner of Batsdijk and Vorsterkampweg in the hamlet of De Bruil, Ruurlo, on a cycle-network stop listed as open 24 hours. The maker spells the street Vortsterkampweg. Source Source Source Checked

Open in Maps

Opens Google Street View (August 2025) facing the tree.

🗓️ Sightings

  1. 201217 Sep

    Set up at its corner · René Bruns

  2. 201223 Sep

    Unveiled at Burendag · Contact Ruurlo

  3. 2025Aug

    In place on Street View · camera date

Green stamps mark dated photographs; amber stamps mark records or reports; red stamps mark loss. Publication dates are not camera dates.

🗞️ In the sources

René BrunsMaker’s page, undated

“Op zondag 23 september 2012 is de (B)ruilboom officieel in gebruik genomen.”

“On Sunday 23 September 2012 the (B)ruilboom was officially put into use.”

Read the source →

Contact Ruurlo26 Sep 2012

“De (B)ruilboom dient als plek voor rust, ontspanning en ontmoeting”

“The (B)ruilboom is meant as a place for rest, relaxation and meeting.” Ria Steging, initiator and board member of the neighbourhood association.

Read the source →

✅ The facts

Maker
René Bruns, furniture maker (schrijnwerker) from Laren Source Source Source Checked
Title
De (B)ruilboom; Contact Ruurlo writes B(oeken)ruilboom, “book exchange tree” Source Source Source Checked
Commissioned by
Buurtvereniging De Bruil en Omstreken Source Source Checked
Opened
23 September 2012 Source Source Checked
Tree
Sweet chestnut, about 350 to 400 years old Source Source Checked
Cabinets
Ten, each with a glass door Source Source Checked
Trunk
About 4 metres tall; 1.70 m across according to the maker, two metres according to Contact Ruurlo. We follow the maker, who measured it in his workshop Source Source Conflicting
Weight
About 10 tonnes for the whole tree before it was sawn in two (maker); about 3 tonnes for the library trunk (Contact Ruurlo) Source Source Reported
Firsts
Reportedly the second book exchange tree in the Netherlands, after one in Zwijndrecht Source Reported
Status today
In place on Google Street View, August 2025 (camera date) Source Checked

🔗 Related

All sources & image credits

Last checked: 2 November 2026. How we verify art