On the 9th of March 2019, in front of the Old Vine House in Maribor, the Pruning of the Oldest Vine in the world took place. The Pruning of the Old Vine was this year held for the 40th consecutive year. On the annual pruning occasion, the city of Maribor presents the gift of the Old Vine scion to eight partner towns and institutions at home and abroad. This festive moment is very important for the people of Maribor who pride themselves with this over 450 years old vine protected as a natural monument and listed as the oldest vine in the world in the Guinness Book of Records.
This year’s receivers of the Old vine scions were the Municipality of Ravne na Koroškem (Slovenia), the Municipality and the parish of Razkrižje (Slovenia), the Ljutomer Casasian Club (Slovenia), the Ribnica Association in Dolenjska (Slovenia), the City of Osijek (Croatia), the Inuyama National Park along the Kiso River (Japan), the Stetten im Remstal near Stuttgart (Germany), and Monoter / Szentgotthárd (Hungary).
The Old Vine, growing in Maribor’s old town Lent, is the pride of Maribor, Styria and Slovenia. Hence, the pruning event honours the vine’s history with wine, food, culture and entertainment and celebrate this symbol of Slovenian wine and persistence.
Mayor of the Municipality of Maribor, Sašo Arsenovič notes: “The old vine has a great potential to bring our place to the world. We also prove with vigor that we are able to appreciate history and build stories on the basis of this. The vine connects us with other towns and cultures.”
Director of the Maribor – Pohorje Tourist Board, Doris Urbančič Windisch, added: “In the future, we want the upgrading of the grafting to be upgraded with the promotional concept and the obligations of the recipients, which would improve the possibilities of promoting Maribor in the cities where the offsprings are growing. After all, the purpose of the award is to bring the oldest vine together with Maribor and Slovenia into the rest of the world.”
In 2020, the pruning of the Old Vine will take place on the 7th of March. For the congress and business guests in town, the event will provide a unique experience accompanied by a rich programme and tastings of local wine and food.
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