Bled and Lake Bled, Slovenia

Photo "Picture perfect Bled in Slovenia on a rainy day" - courtesy of ** Maurice **

Bled has been a settlement since the Middle Stone Age, when the ancient Slavs worshipped Ziva, the goddess of love and fertility in a temple on the island.

Pilgrims later journeyed to the island church of St. Mary (Sveta Marija) to pay homage to the Virgin Mary.

More than a millennium ago, the town of Bled was mentioned for the first time as "Ueldes" (Veldes) within the imperial estate of the Holy Roman Empire of March of Carniola on April 10, 1004, when it was awarded by Emperor Henry II to Bishop Albuin I of Brixen.

The town flourished in the Middle Ages due to pilgrims, and these were replaced in the 19th century by the first tourists.

The Swiss hydropathist, Arnold Rikli, discovered that the gentle climate and the lake and thermal waters are a source of good health and well-being.

Photo "Lake Bled" - courtesy of NZSam

The local people supplemented the health spa offer with guest houses and hotels.

The town, already famous at the beginning of the 20th century as the most beautiful health spa of the then Austrian empire, attracted the European aristocratic elite.

After WWII, one of the most attractive state residences of the former regime was located in Bled. Many of the world's most important people thus enjoyed the beauties of Bled.

And now, for decades already, the pilgrims of the new age have been discovering this town.

After Slovenia gained its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, Bled became an independent municipality in 1996.

"Bled is famous for the glacial Lake Bled, which makes it a major tourist attraction. Perched on a rock overlooking the lake is the iconic Bled Castle. Arnold Rikli from Switzerland contributed significantly to the development of Bled as a health resort in the 2nd half of the 19th century. Due to its mild climate, Bled has been visited by aristocratic guests from all across the world. Today it is an important convention centre and tourist resort, offering a wide range of sport activities (golf, fishing, horseback-riding) and is a starting point for mountain treks and hikes.

A small island in the middle of the lake is home to a church; visitors frequently ring its bell for good luck. Human traces from prehistory have been found on the island. Before the church was built, there was a temple consecrated to %u017Diva, the Slavic goddess of love and fertility. One can get to the island on a traditional boat called Pletna."

Photo and comment above - courtesy of M4tjazT

"Swimming alongside the barrier, Lake Bled, Slovenia.

Lake Bled is a small (2km x 1.5km) glacial lake but fed by thermal springs. Temperature is a beautiful 23 degrees Centigrade (that's warm in Fahrenheit). Shot taken from the medieval Bled Castle, perched 100m above the lake."

Photo "Triangulation swimming" and the comment above - courtesy of An Gobán Saor

Bled is famous for its glacial Lake Bled, which is a major tourist attraction. Activities offered by the local community and industry include:

• walking and coaching trails around the lake


• traditional boats, called "pletna"


• ringing the island's wishing bell


• castle museum and its treasures


• nearby ski slopes in winter


• mountain trails


• golf courses


• hunting


• fishing


• diving


• the casino


• convention center


• horseback riding


• a starting point for mountain treks and hikes-especially within the nearby Triglav National Park

"Morning on Lake Bled ... for 10 Euro you can hop on one of these pletnas for a ride over to the island and back"

Photo and comment above - courtesy of StrudelMonkey

Photo "Fish, Lake Bled, Slovenia" - courtesy of martinturner

"After a 6 hour train ride from Hlavní Nádra%u017Eí to Bled, in 40 degree heat on non air-conditioned trains. We then spent 2 hours looking, with no success for a hostel. Understandably by then the only thing we wanted to do was jump in, however you are not actually allowed to swim in beld outside of the designated swimming arias. So we left the town and found a house and jsut dived of the jetty, and slept in the boat house. It later turned out that it was President Titos summer residence."

Photo "Lake Bled" and comment above - courtesy of jacob_eos

A place nestles in the Alps, a place boasting a lake charmed by wooded shores and alpine foothills. A castle clutches to an unscalable white cliff, embraced by a thick, impenetrable forest, watching over a shining lake, rippled only by a pair of gliding swans or perhaps grey slips of fish curving their streams through the water's surface.

A melody of green, composed by the surrounding woods and copses, lulls the scene, except in the brief autumn when reds and golds display a fiery spectacular before raining down into the mellow sedation. Wild flowers of every colour emanate soft scents, and when they are gone under the winter snow, pine-infused air speaks of the trees that embrace the lake shores and adjoining hills.

At the head and toe of the valley the Radovna and Sava rivers curl and churn easy routes through all of this, tumbling from above and winding beyond Bled and the small villages and hamlets that perch on the rivers' deep blue-green gorges and valleys. The perpetual rumble of the pounding torrents and the hourly tolls of numerous church bells are the only sounds to breach the quiet and calming lull of Bled's environs.

Feel the refreshing breezes as they spill from the mountains and wrap around the verdant valley bowl, pure as the meadows and glaciers from which they swoop.

Walk through the old town, tucked under the castle cliff and follow the narrow street that leads down from the church. Small houses, measured with dark wood and balconies heaving with pink and red geraniums in summer, delineate the edges of the street. In the cold months the aromas of coffee, hot wild mushroom soup and wood smoke blend and swirl from the houses in warm contrast to the quiet rain or silent snow.

Where the willows weep into the water gondoliers wait for passengers. You step on board the rocking vessel and the quiet gondolier pushes it gently away from the bank, from the willows and grassy park. Gently, quietly the gondola glides you through the water towards the small island, it's pink and white-grey church slowly becoming more visible, you can make out the dark cornerstones. You arrive on the island, the gondola rocks as you depart, but will wait for you. You climb the pale stone steps of the ascent to the small buildings. You push the heavy church door and step in to the cool chasm, clad with gold and dark frescoes which you take a few moments to decipher. You are invited to chime the bell that rings pristinely through the air, reverberating a deep chime around the valley. You leave the church and take a seat at one of the tables in the cool courtyard where you indulge in kamilcni caj. Soothed, you walk back down to the water's edge you look out to the parent shores of the lake and are calmed by the view, the relentlessly green foothills, the white scree slopes scaling not so distant mountain slopes, and the dark and glimmering outlines of a small houses nestling in the foothills.

When you disembark you follow the path around the lake, past a languid, mossy fountain and up the steps into the town. Coffee bars whirl with aromas of fresh coffee and cream. People arrive. They have already tasted Bled and are back for more. They may head for a building wound with coloured ivy, or the white functionality of the shopping centre with its small square and terraces of shops and cafes. Some may head up into the old town and nestle in a gostilna, or sit on a villa patio to eat hot raspberries with ice cream while absorbing the view: the lake, the island the castle, the woods, hills and mountains.

It is dusk. What remains of natural light clings to a blue-pink halo edging high clouds. Lamps begin to ignite and softly glow in the pale half-light. The cool breeze occasionally billows into a soft wind. The lake shimmers every shade of grey and white, flexing the mirrored images that have floated day long on its surface.

The evening has tumbled from the mountains and the inky night is swiftly ushered in. The bird song fades. People are gathering in conversing, laughing throngs. You wander down to the lake again and see a display of candles floating on the water, a glowing, flickering blanket of soft light. Fireworks explode over the castle lighting up the mountains as a backdrop for coloured showers. Then calmness abounds, again.

Wherever or however you imagine this place to be it is your own; if you want to really experience it, visit Bled.

On a high cliff overlooking the lake is the iconic Bled Castle - one of the oldest castles in Slovenia-which began as a Roman tower.

The castle has now been turned into a museum featuring the history of Bled through the centuries. The castle is also a wonderful view-point for the scenery of the lake and the surrounding Julian Alps.

Photo "Bled Castle" - courtesy of MarekP

"View of the castle top yard showing Chapel"

Photo "Lake Bled - The Castle yard" and comment above - courtesy of dgjones10

Photo courtesy of Photos ludiques

Photo courtesy of jogretar

The most talked-about way of getting married in Bled seems to be a wedding in the church on Bled Island. The tradition is to arrive by pletna boat to that small island and then the groom has to carry his bride all the way up those 99 steps to the front of the church... :)

You can also get married at the Bled Castle, at the ruins of nearby Kamen Castle in medieval setting with medieval entertainment - and some other places around.

Vows renewals are also available, so seems to be everything else that goes with that special day.

"Bled Castle does a great line in period costume weddings. The wedding reception room was fabulous with views across Lake Bled."

Photo "Bled Castle wedding" and comment above - courtesy of David & Loralie Thomson

"Pletna returns from a Wedding trip to the island carrying the band who are playing as they travel"

Photo "Lake Bled - Music on the Lake" and comment above - courtesy of dgjones10

"Louis carried Josephine the first 80 steps, really!"

Photo "Up the 99 steps..." and comment above - courtesy of tregger

• Slavko Avsenik, musician and composer, born in Begunje near Bled on November 26, 1929



• 1967 Tomaz Bernik MD FACS Vascular Surgeon and TOP Doctor in NYC



• Spela Pretnar, skier and Olympic athlete, born in Bled on March 5, 1973



• Sara Isakovic, freestyle swimmer and Olympic athlete, born in Bled on June 9, 1988.
  She won silver medal in swimming Women's 200m free at summer Olympic Games in Beijing 2008.



• Julius von Payer, arctic explorer, born in Sanov, Teplice on September 2, 1841, died in Bled on August 19, 1915

Photo courtesy of Manuele Zunelli