The spruce was brought to Tallinn from Üksnurme village in Saku Municipality.

Tallinn puts out an open call for Christmas trees every year and Kesklinn Elder Sander Andla said 13 trees were proposed this year.

The work to move the spruce started at 8 a.m. and a crowd gathered to watch, Wednesday's evening news show "Aktuaalne kaamera" reported. Transporting such a large spruce tree was a carefully planned operation.

One of those present was the tree's owner, Aino Kandima. The tree grew in front of her summer house.

"I'm very upset about it, and likely will be for the coming days as well, because it has not quite sunk in that it is no longer here. I used to see it all the time from my kitchen window, and now it is gone," she said.

But, at the same time, Kandima also suggested Tallinn use the tree. "I was the one who initiated it. Since there had been some talk about it leaning slightly toward the neighboring house, it was undoubtedly a decision that needed to be made. And so, it happened," she told the show.

Kandima said her tree was over 50 years old.

Andla said Tallinn tries to choose trees that will soon need to be cut down.

"We specifically chose this one, and, as you can imagine, there are various criteria involved. The appearance, height, and other parameters are evaluated because we want to have the most beautiful tree possible. We are not harming any tree unnecessarily; we select one that would need to be cut down anyway. But this way, we are also giving the tree an opportunity to bring Christmas joy to the people and visitors of Tallinn at Raekoja plats," he said.

The spruce will be decorated in the coming days. The lights will be switched on when the Christmas market opens on November 22 and it stay on the square until February.

This article was updated to add comments from Sander Andla and Aino Kandima.

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