The “Sham mulberry” tree over 700 years old– the oldest protected tree of Serbia in Pec Patriarchate

The “Sham mulberry” – the oldest protected tree of Serbia is located only fifteen meters away from the entrance to the port of Pec Patriarchate in Kosovo. It was planted by Serbian Archbishop Sava II, the son of Stefan the First-Crowned.

In addition to its natural values, the protected black mulberry tree (Morusnigra), which is more than 700 years old, is also a historical monument – a cultural property. The black mulberry tree was planted by Serbian Archbishop Sava II between 1263 and 1272. After returning from Jerusalem, Sava II passed through the province of Sham, in present-day Syria, where he brought mulberry seeds from and planted them at the port of the Pec Patriarchate.

The centuries-old tree cracked into two parts during a storm in 1957. The branches touched the ground, and later grew into two treetops. Alongside the main trunk, the mulberry tree developed three more tree trunks.

Right under this mulberry tree, Arsenije Carnojevic held a meeting with the most prominent people from Kosovo in 1690, after which it was decided that the Serbian people would start the great migration to Vojvodina.

According to Mother Haritina from the Pec Patriarchate, the mulberry tree is still growing and spreading.

The „Sham-mulberry“ monument of nature was protected for the first time by the decision of the Institute for Protection and Scientific Research in Natural Rarities of the People’s Republic of Serbia in 1957 – as a botanical natural rarity. Respecting its natural values, this first degree of protection of this natural monument was determined.

According to data from a few years ago, the basic trunk of the mulberry tree is more than eight meters tall, 5.8 meters in girth and has a diameter of 1.9 meters.

The Sham mulberry tree is successfully standing the test of time, but it’s a question how long it can fight with insects that are constantly attacking the mulberry tree, and, according directions given to visitors’, the tree branches could break if left with no construction supporting them.