Natural and Cultural Heritage
Stara Maslina Old Olive of Mirovica
Bar · Southern Coast & Ulcinj
QUICK INFORMATION
- CATEGORY
- Natural and Cultural Heritage
- COUNTRY
- Montenegro
- REGION
- Bar · Southern Coast & Ulcinj
- DURATION
- 2 days
ABOUT THIS ATTRACTION
Stara Maslina — the Old Olive of Mirovica — is a protected natural monument and the best-known symbol of Bar’s long olive-growing tradition. It stands in Mirovica, on the plain outside the modern city centre and below the Stari Bar landscape, among the working olive groves that have been cultivated here for centuries. The tree is traditionally and commonly estimated at more than 2,000 years old, an age repeated in local tradition and widely cited, though it should be understood as a long-standing estimate rather than a scientifically exact, guaranteed figure. What is certain is that Stara Maslina is one of the oldest olive trees in the Mediterranean and a living link to the agricultural landscape that gave Bar its reason to exist. The tree itself stands within a small protected enclosure that separates the monument from the wider working groves around it, and it is the natural counterpoint to the ruined fortified old town above — the cultivated heritage that sits beneath the stone one.
HISTORY & BACKGROUND
The story behind it
The plain between modern Bar and the foot of Stari Bar is one of the oldest olive-growing areas in the Mediterranean, a sea of silver-green trees cultivated for centuries and still producing oil today. Stara Maslina is the most celebrated tree in that landscape, protected as a natural monument because of its exceptional age and its symbolic place in the region’s agricultural identity. Its age is traditionally and commonly estimated at more than 2,000 years, a figure rooted in local tradition and repeated for generations, though it is not a scientifically exact, guaranteed measurement. The tree has survived centuries of changing rule — medieval, Venetian and Ottoman — and the modern development of the coastal city, and it remains green and standing within its protected enclosure. The wider groves around it are not a museum but a working agricultural landscape, and the protected tree is the single point where that long cultivation is concentrated and celebrated.
WHAT TO SEE
What to see here
The protected Old Olive tree (Stara Maslina) — an ancient olive standing within its enclosure, traditionally estimated at more than 2,000 years old and a symbol of Bar’s olive-growing tradition.
The Mirovica setting — the tree’s position outside the modern city centre and below the Stari Bar landscape, among the working groves of the plain.
The distinction between the protected enclosure and the wider working olive groves — the monument is the single protected tree, while the surrounding groves remain cultivated, private agricultural land.
The relationship with Stari Bar above — the cultivated heritage of the plain paired with the stone heritage of the fortified old town on the hill.
WHY IT MATTERS
Why it matters
Stara Maslina is the living symbol of Bar’s olive-growing identity — a single protected tree that stands for the centuries of cultivation that gave the region its character and its wealth. For a visitor it is the natural counterpoint to the ruined old town above: where Stari Bar tells the story of walls and rule, the Old Olive tells the story of the land and the people who worked it. Its great age, traditionally estimated at more than 2,000 years, makes it one of the oldest olive trees in the Mediterranean, though that age should be read as a long-standing estimate rather than a guaranteed measurement.
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Before you go
MAP & LOCATION
Stara Maslina Old Olive of Mirovica
Stara Maslina Old Olive of Mirovica, Bar, Southern Coast & Ulcinj, Montenegro
MORE ATTRACTIONS
More to see in Bar
FOOD & DRINK
Where to eat nearby
Konoba Stari Mlin — traditional Montenegrin dishes on the road up to Stari Bar, a natural stop between the modern town and the old town
Bar waterfront and port restaurants — grilled fish, seafood and Montenegrin home cooking along the promenade and around the marina in modern Bar
Stari Bar cafés and konobas — small family-run places among the restored stone houses of the old town, serving grilled meat, local cheese and wine from the Rumija foothills
Olive-oil producers of Stara Maslina area — tastings and local products (oil, honey, wine) sold directly by growers around Mirovica and the old olive groves
HOTELS & STAYS
Where to stay nearby
Hotel Princess — a four-star resort base on the Bar seafront, with pools and direct promenade access
Stari Bar guesthouses — small stone-house rooms and apartments in and around the old town, quiet and several degrees cooler than the coast in summer
Modern Bar apartments and marina stays — self-catering apartments near the waterfront, port and rail station, practical for arriving by bus or train
Sutomore and Čanj coast — beach resorts and apartment camps a short ride north, a cheaper base within easy reach of Bar by the coastal road or rail line
ITINERARIES
Day-by-day routes
NEARBY DESTINATIONS
Continue the journey
PART OF
Keep exploring
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