EUTIN, Germany (AP) — It's timber over Tinder in a forest in northern Germany where the Bridegroom's Oak has connected lovers for more than a century.
Known as “Bräutigamseiche” in German, the Bridegroom’s Oak has a famous knothole that's been used as a mailbox since 1892. It even has its own postal code in the Dodau Forest some 250 kilometers (155 miles) north of Berlin.
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A passer by climbs up a ladder of the Bridegroom's Oak which has a famous knothole that has been used as a mailbox since 1892, in Dodau forest, near Eutin, northern Germany, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
Passers by look at the Bridegroom's Oak which has a famous knothole that has been used as a mailbox since 1892, in Dodau forest, near Eutin, northern Germany, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
A letter posted in a hole in the Bridegroom's Oak which has a famous knothole that has been used as a mailbox since 1892, in Dodau forest, near Eutin, northern Germany, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
A passer by climbs up a ladder of the Bridegroom's Oak which has a famous knothole that has been used as a mailbox since 1892, in Dodau forest, near Eutin, northern Germany, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
A letter posted in a hole in the Bridegroom's Oak which has a famous knothole that has been used as a mailbox since 1892, in Dodau forest, near Eutin, northern Germany, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
A passer by climbs up a ladder of the Bridegroom's Oak which has a famous knothole that has been used as a mailbox since 1892, in Dodau forest, near Eutin, northern Germany, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
Mail carriers from the German postal service act as Cupid, delivering 50 to 60 letters to the knothole each month. They must climb a ladder to reach the arboreal mailbox about 3 meters (10 feet) up the 25-meter (82-foot) -tall tree that's more than 500 years old.
Visitors to the tree can leaf through the missives, some of which are mailed from other continents, and choose whether to become postal paramours with any of the letter-writers.
“The resulting pen pal relationships have even led to a few marriages,” the postal service says.
The oak was first used as a waystation between a forester's daughter and a chocolate manufacturer from Leipzig, according to the postal service. The forester initially opposed the courtship, so the couple left love letters for each other in the knothole.
They ultimately married, with the forester's permission, under the oak's leaves in 1892.
Send your own love letter to: Bräutigamseiche, Dodauer Forst, 23701 Eutin, Germany.
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Dazio reported from Berlin.
A passer by climbs up a ladder of the Bridegroom's Oak which has a famous knothole that has been used as a mailbox since 1892, in Dodau forest, near Eutin, northern Germany, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
Passers by look at the Bridegroom's Oak which has a famous knothole that has been used as a mailbox since 1892, in Dodau forest, near Eutin, northern Germany, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
A letter posted in a hole in the Bridegroom's Oak which has a famous knothole that has been used as a mailbox since 1892, in Dodau forest, near Eutin, northern Germany, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
A passer by climbs up a ladder of the Bridegroom's Oak which has a famous knothole that has been used as a mailbox since 1892, in Dodau forest, near Eutin, northern Germany, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
A letter posted in a hole in the Bridegroom's Oak which has a famous knothole that has been used as a mailbox since 1892, in Dodau forest, near Eutin, northern Germany, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
A passer by climbs up a ladder of the Bridegroom's Oak which has a famous knothole that has been used as a mailbox since 1892, in Dodau forest, near Eutin, northern Germany, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — Maine Gov. Janet Mills on Thursday dropped her bid for the U.S. Senate, pointing to a lack of campaign funds to keep up in one of the most competitive races in the country that quickly became a reflection of an internal party debate over which candidates can win in high-profile contests.
The move now thrusts political newcomer Graham Platner, an oyster farmer almost no one knew a year ago, as the expected Democratic front-runner against longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins, whose seat Democrats are targeting in their effort to win control of the closely divided Senate.
“While I have the drive and passion, commitment and experience, and above all else – the fight – to continue on, I very simply do not have the one thing that political campaigns unfortunately require today: the financial resources," Mills said in a statement. “That is why today I have made the incredibly difficult decision to suspend my campaign for the United States Senate.”
Mills, a two-term governor and longtime Maine politician, was seen as one of Democrats' top 2026 recruits when she entered the Senate race last year. She had the backing of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and prominent left-leaning advocacy groups hoping to unseat Collins in the chamber, which has 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats and two independents who caucus with the Democrats.
But Mills struggled to outshine first-time candidate Platner, her opponent in the June 9 Democratic primary. Platner has maintained strong popularity despite facing controversy over past comments he made online and a tattoo he had that is widely recognized as a Nazi symbol.
Mills did not endorse Platner in her campaign suspension announcement, but she said in a follow-up statement that she would “continue to hear and watch how Graham Platner works to earn the support of Maine voters.”
Meanwhile, Schumer and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chair Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, both of New York, said they would work with Platner to defeat Collins.
“Our North Star is winning a Democratic Senate majority, and over the past year, Senate Democrats have carved out multiple paths to do that,” their statement said.
The contest between Platner and Mills was part of a broader debate within the Democratic Party over how best to defeat Republicans and win back some power in President Donald Trump's Washington, where the GOP controls the White House and both chambers of Congress.
While Schumer backed Mills, his caucus did not fall in line.
Platner is backed by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, and Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Ruben Gallego of Arizona and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico.
Platner held a series of events Thursday thanking Mills for her service and acknowledging he's going to face potentially millions of dollars in attack ads from Republicans in the coming months.
"The Republican Party is going to come after us with everything they’ve got,” Platner said. “The way we break through that is by connecting with people directly.”
Mills had tried to convince voters that she was the best candidate to stand up to Trump, repeatedly noting she told the president she would see him in court, a reference to Maine officials' lawsuit against the Trump administration over federal funding and a dispute over transgender athletes in sports.
Yet the message appeared at times drowned out by the popularity Platner attracted on the campaign trail. His events have attracted thousands of supporters as he pitched his populist message and flooded airwaves with his ads. He consistently outraised Mills every step of the way, raising $4 million while Mills raised $2.6 million in the latest fundraising quarter. Collins raised $3.1 million but has $10 million in the bank.
Age also became an issue in the race, as some Democrats want younger candidates to lead the party going forward. Mills is 78, while Plater is 41. Collins is 73.
“I’m sure this was a difficult decision for Governor Mills, and I thank her for her decades of service to the people of Maine,” Collins said in a statement.
So far this year, Democrats have largely avoided messy internal fights in their bid to retake the Senate. The Maine race was an exception, and with Mills’ decision, the Michigan Democratic primary could be the most heated campaign this year. Abdul El-Sayed, U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow are locked in a competitive race there ahead of the August primary.
Many political observers initially anticipated that it would be Platner, not Mills, who would be forced to bow out of the race.
Platner has been dogged by questions about the skull-and-crossbones tattoo recognized as a Nazi symbol that he said he got on his chest during a night of drinking while on military leave in Croatia. He has said the tattoo has been covered to no longer reflect that image. Additionally, there have been lingering questions about inflammatory comments he made in old online postings, which he has since disavowed.
Yet, Platner's willingness to talk about his past mistakes has helped propel his favorability.
Republicans had already begun attacking Platner ahead of Mills' campaign suspension announcement, pointing to his old social media posts that were dismissive of sexual assault. Among the posts, Platner once wrote on Reddit that people shouldn’t get so drunk “they wind up having sex with someone they don’t mean to.”
“Now with Chuck Schumer‘s reluctant support, Platner’s attempt at the Senate will be yet another fantasy that will end when Susan Collins grinds this fraudster into dust,” said Alex Latcham, executive director of the Senate Leadership Fund, in a statement.
Kruesi reported from Providence. R.I. Associated Press writer Steven Sloan contributed from Washington.
Follow the AP’s coverage of the 2026 election at https://apnews.com/projects/elections-2026/.
Graham Platner, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, arrives at a news conference Thursday, April 30, 2026, in Lewiston, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, questions Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins during a Senate Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies hearing on the President's Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Request for the Department of Veterans Affairs, Thursday, April 30, 2026 in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)
Graham Platner, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, speaks at a news conference Thursday, April 30, 2026, in Lewiston, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
FILE - Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, greets lawmakers prior to delivering her State of the State address, Jan. 30, 2024, at the State House in Augusta, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, FIle)
