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Be that as it may, it seems likely that thisregion has had a connection with grapevinesand wine since Roman times, and directproof of this long-lasting love is to be found inthe very centre of Maribor. On the left bankof the Drava, in the Lent district, they willproudly show you a vine that is more than400 years old and appears in the Guinnessbook of records as the oldest vine in theworld. It was planted at a time when the citywas under siege by the Ottoman Turks, andalthough the House of the Old Vine – thename of the building against which the vinegrows – was once part of the city walls, itsurvived all the furious fighting. Havinglived through the fires that destroyed thewooden roofs of the medieval houses, thephylloxera plague and the Allied bombingraids during the Second World War, the vineis sometimes referred to as “the hardy one”.The nearby Drava has certainly helped it tosurvive, since the vine’s roots extend deepinto the gravel of the riverbed. No wonder,then, that the people of Štajerska havededicated a hymn to their vine. In honour ofthe hardy Old Vine, and to its eternal glory,picturesque wine routes and cellars in whichthe dark-red wine is laid down to age can befound throughout Štajerska.If you follow these routes in summeror autumn you may also spot anothercharacteristic feature of this area: the klopotecor bird-scaring rattle. Its wooden blades aredriven by the wind so that the macleki, asthe wooden clappers are known, create theirunmistakable music. Farmers once used thisdevice to drive voracious birds away fromthe ripening grapes in their vineyards – atleast this was the intention – but today theŠtajerska | 43