As old as the bible. The oldest vine in the world still produces super grapes!

Stara trta, the oldest vine in the world, still lives in Maribor, in the central part of the old town. An old vine with more than 400 years of age was entered in the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest vine in the world that still produces noble fruits – without a doubt, experts confirm that it is indeed the oldest! It is a variety of blue Žametovka. Today, her descendants grow almost all over the world.

The vine was planted in front of the house at Vojašniška Street 8 sometime at the end of the Middle Ages when the Turks besieged the city of Maribor. Despite fierce battles between the defenders of the city and the attackers taking place in front of it, Stara Trta survived. In the late Middle Ages, there were frequent fires in Maribor, because the roofs of the houses were wooden, and the roofs were made of straw. The house in front of which the Stara Trta grows has also been partially burned several times, but the Stara Trta has survived medieval fires.

Harvest of Stara trta, Navdih.net archive, www.slovenia.info

Around 1870, the vine aphid came to our region, which meant a real disaster for winegrowers all over Europe, because most of the vines died because of this pest, which attacks the roots. Stara trta still survived because it has roots deep under the Drava gravel, where the cane aphid could not take root. Not even the allied bombing of the city could destroy it, even though the house in front of which it is growing was also partially destroyed.

However, even more, difficult times awaited it. After the dam on the Drava River was built in 1963, serious problems began for Stara Trta. With the rise of the river level by more than three meters, the long-standing balance of the root system was disturbed, and the vine began to slowly die. The neglect of the area along the Drava River in the 1970s and unprofessional care only worsened its condition.

House of Stara trta in Maribor, Photo: Domen Groegl – www.slovenia.info

Fortunately, the stubborn old vine was noticed by a group of experts from the Agricultural Institute who prevented the removal of reeds and the demolition of the house, which was in a very bad condition. The experts focused all their efforts on the revitalization of the vines. So by removing the dead parts and making shortcuts, they brought her back to life. The old vine survived.

After the renovation of the house and the paving of the surroundings in 1982,  Stara trta blooms in full glory today and has become one of the main Slovenian attractions. Search for more at House of Stara trta!