Reviving Montenegro's 'ancient' olive tree

At the edge of rugged Montenegrin foothills, a years-long effort to save one of the country's oldest olive trees, which locals say dates back millennia, is finally bearing fruit -- literally.

The tree in the town of Bar was successfully harvested in October for the first time in four seasons, following years of urgent restorative work.

"It is believed that the ancient Greeks brought it here," House of Olives executive director Marija Markoc told the media, from under its canopy.

The House of Olives, a public company tasked with maintaining the tree, was established by the local government as part of an effort to save it after its health began to decline rapidly in 2022.

Earlier this month, little green fruit once again tipped the tree's gnarled branches, a positive sign for future harvests from the tree, which is closely tied to the small community of Mirovica.

Marija Markoc, executive director of “The House of Olives,” poses next to the old olive tree in the town of Bar, in southern Montenegro.

"They identify with how much it has managed to overcome, and with the fact that it is once again bearing fruit and surviving."

Olive trees dot the surroundings of the coastal town, with several said to date back thousands of years.

Markoc said that laboratory testing of trees in the region conducted in 2015 placed Mirovica's tree at 2,250 years -- which was not even the oldest.

That age would put it among some of the oldest living olive trees in the world but the species is notoriously difficult to date, with previous analyses on similarly "ancient" trees having difficulty pinpointing exact ages.

This aerial photograph shows the old olive tree of the town of Bar, southern Montenegro.

A 2024 study of the trees in Lebanon found that one roughly double the size of Mirovica's could be at least 1,000 years old -- but most tree samples tested were between 500 and 600 years old.

Blood feuds to leisure cruises

Regardless, for locals, the folklore surrounding the tree's historic roots has made it a symbol of Mirovica, whose name derives from the Montenegrin word for peace, owing to its role as a meeting place between warring clans.

"It has seen a great deal, it has seen various reconciliations, and it has seen the suppression of blood feuds," Markoc said.

But when it fell into poor health, researchers discovered that excessive groundwater, believed to stem from urbanisation, was threatening its future -- leading to years of work to improve drainage at the site.

Since the works, Markoc said the tree's condition has noticeably improved and last year's harvest already produced oil.

Now blooming again, it draws large crowds of cruise ship passengers and tourists, with 40,000 visitors last year, according to the House of Olives annual report.

This ancient olive tree, which survived two fires in the 20th century, was very close to dying. Photos : AFP

"We have managed to revive this area and give this tree a long-lasting life," Markoc said.

"It is a great honour. It is wonderful to work with it and to take care of it, but believe me, it is also an enormous, enormous responsibility."

Agence France - Presse