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The aim of the studies was to evaluate the usefulness of the microscopic features of wood in characterising the climatic conditions of a period for which only proxy data are available. Samples were taken from historical wood from Koronowo collegiate church and from a living Scots pine tree growing in the Toruń-Wrzosy site. All measurements were performed using ImageJ software. The dendroclimatological analysis was carried out in the program DendroClim2002. The results show a correlation between the microscopic features of wood and climatic conditions. For the period 1951-2000 the maximum optical density of pine wood depends on average May air temperature and June precipitation, with correlation coefficients of -0.32 and -0.29, respectively. A similar correlation was found for mean maximum and minimum temperatures in May; -0.35 and -0.37, respectively. Additional correlations between selected meteorological elements and the maximum optical density of the wood were found using 30-year moving averages and moving intervals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]