Festival of the oldest vine in the world “Stara trta”

DURATION: 1 day
PRICE:
• Meeting point: Piran
€ 30.00 / person
• Meeting point: Lipnica (AUT)
€ 25.00 / person

A group of 40-50 people

GUIDE: Yes
PROGRAMME:
9:00
Departure from the arranged stop.

9: 45-11: 00
Driving on the highway all the way to Maribor and withdrawal of passengers in the center of Maribor, at the Tourist Information Center (TIC). There our guide is waiting for us and takes us on a two-hour trip, where we see and get to know the Franciscan Church, Maribor Castle, Plague Sign, Rotovž – Town Hall, Slovenian National Theater Maribor and of course Lent.

11:45
On Lent, we part with a guide and finally indulge in the hustle and bustle of the Old Vine Festival. The excellent offer of cuisine and wine is crowned by concerts that take place on Lent that day. The crowning event of the new Wine Queen of the Maribor wine-growing sub-region will take place at the House of the Old Vine on this day.
At the arranged time, we meet at the starting point of our trip around Maribor, at the TIC, board the bus and set off for the drive home.

WHAT IS THE OLD VINE FESTIVAL?
The Old Vine Festival is a wine, culinary and cultural tribute to the oldest vine in the world, which grows on Maribor’s Lent. The vine, which fills us – the people of Maribor, Styria and Slovenia – with pride, and reveals to our visitors the veil of secrets about the extremely rich viticultural tradition and the successful stories of Styrian winemakers. At the Old Vine Festival you will have the opportunity to meet the best Styrian and Slovenian winemakers. You are invited to the temple of Slovenian viticultural tradition and culture, the House of the Old Vine, to themed wine and culinary evenings or to festival stands, where you will be able to taste an excellent precious drop of local producers during the entertainment program. The Old Vine Festival is a perfect experience for lovers of authentic, traditional delicacies as well as for true gourmets. Cheesemakers and beekeepers, a celebration of organic farms, cooking in cauldrons and other culinary offerings of festival stalls take care of the hustle and bustle of the city streets and squares.

Maribor is the second largest city in Slovenia and the center of the Municipality of Maribor. It is a university and metropolitan city and the economic, financial, administrative, educational, cultural, commercial and tourist center of northeastern Slovenia. Maribor was the European Capital of Culture in 2012 and the European Youth Capital in 2013. In 2012, it also hosted the European Youth Chess Championship. The town developed along the Drava River, below the castle there. The first mention of the castle dates back to 1164. The castle was called Marchburg, which means castle in the mark (the mark was a border county). The castle stood on the hill of the Pyramid, just above the city. The settlement did not form under the fortress itself; firstly because of the dock under the castle and secondly because of the heavily swampy southwestern area. The settlement was formed along today’s Koroška cesta, ending in today’s Glavni trg, where two important routes from Koroška to Ptuj and from Ljubljana to Graz met. The first mention of the settlement of Maribor is from 1204. The square next to the castle is mentioned. In 1254, the square was granted city rights. With the victory of Rudolf of Habsburg over Otokar II. in 1278 the town began to develop rapidly. Maribor defied the siege of Matthias Corvinus in 1480 and 1481 and the siege of the Ottoman Empire in 1532 and 1683. The city remained under the rule of the Habsburg Monarchy until 1918.
Today, the city has a number of institutions of national importance. The University of Maribor, the Institute of Information Sciences – IZUM, Nova KBM, Zavarovalnica Maribor, SNG Maribor, the University Clinical Center Maribor and the Archdiocese of Maribor are based here. National institutions such as Pošta Slovenije, the Slovenian Enterprise Fund, the Public Energy Agency of the Republic of Slovenia and the Railway Transport Agency are also based in the city. Maribor is the center of Slovenian Styria and the seat of the Podravska region and the eastern cohesion region with a very favorable position at the crossroads of important European routes, along the Drava River, between Pohorje, Kozjak and Slovenske gorice, between the Drava Valley and the Drava plain.

In the central part of the old town on Lent, the Old Vine, the oldest vine in the world, has been deeply rooted for more than 400 years. The house was built in the 16th century and to this day on the south side, facing the Drava River, has not undergone significant architectural changes. The house was once part of the city walls, where angry fights often took place between the defenders of the city and the attackers. In the middle Ages, the House was engulfed in fire several times, but the solid “velvet blade” planted in front of it has survived to this day. Not even the bombing during World War II came to life, even though the House was partially demolished. Today, the House of the Old Vine houses a temple of wine tradition and culture of Maribor, Styria and Slovenia with guided tours of the rich wine heritage and museum exhibits. A convenient tourist information center is also available to visitors to the city. The Old Vine House also bears the honorary seat of Slovenian and international associations sworn to worship wine and wine culture: the Association of Honorable Wine Convents of St. Urban, the Association of the European Order of the Knights of Wine, the Association of the Slovenian Order of Knights and the Association of Slovenian and Maribor Wine Queens. In the House of the Old Vine, visitors have at their disposal a wine shop and a tasting room of top wines from the Maribor wine-growing sub-region, as well as a souvenir shop and excellent Slovenian chocolates. Throughout the year, the House hosts numerous events with a wine and culinary theme. In the summer months, you can sit in the wine garden and enjoy the view of the venerable “wine queen” in the company of excellent Styrian wine.