Bled is a
municipalityA municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
in northwestern
SloveniaSlovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
in the region of
Upper CarniolaUpper Carniola is a traditional region of Slovenia, the northern mountainous part of the larger Carniola region. The centre of the region is Kranj, while other urban centers include Jesenice, Tržič, Škofja Loka, Kamnik, and Domžale.- Historical background :...
. The area, within the
Julian AlpsThe Julian Alps are a mountain range of the Southern Limestone Alps that stretches from northeastern Italy to Slovenia, where they rise to 2,864 m at Mount Triglav. They are named after Julius Caesar, who founded the municipium of Cividale del Friuli at the foot of the mountains...
, is a popular
tourist destinationA resort town, sometimes called a resort city or resort destination, is a town or area where tourism or vacationing is a primary component of the local culture and economy...
.
History
A settlement area since
MesolithicThe Mesolithic is an archaeological concept used to refer to certain groups of archaeological cultures defined as falling between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic....
times, Bled was first mentioned as
Ueldes (
Veldes) within the
March of CarniolaThe March of Carniola was a southeastern state of the Holy Roman Empire in the High Middle Ages, the predecessor of the Duchy of Carniola. It corresponded roughly to the central Carniolan region of present-day Slovenia...
on April 10, 1004, when it was awarded by
Emperor Henry IIHenry II , also referred to as Saint Henry, Obl.S.B., was the fifth and last Holy Roman Emperor of the Ottonian dynasty, from his coronation in Rome in 1014 until his death a decade later. He was crowned King of the Germans in 1002 and King of Italy in 1004...
to
Bishop Albuin I of BrixenThe Bishopric of Brixen is a former Roman Catholic diocese and also a former ecclesiastical state of the Holy Roman Empire in the present province of South Tyrol. The bishopric in the Eisack/Isarco valley was established in the 6th century and gradually received more secular powers...
.
Bled CastleBled Castle is a medieval castle built on a precipice above the city of Bled in Slovenia, overlooking Lake Bled. According to written sources, it is the oldest Slovenian castle and is currently one of the most visited tourist attractions in Slovenia....
was first mentioned in a 22 May 1011 deed in which Henry II donated it to Albuin's successor, Bishop Adalberon of Brixen. With Carniola, Bled was ceded to
Rudolph of HabsburgRudolph I was King of the Romans from 1273 until his death. He played a vital role in raising the Habsburg dynasty to a leading position among the Imperial feudal dynasties...
after he defeated
King Ottokar II of BohemiaOttokar II , called The Iron and Golden King, was the King of Bohemia from 1253 until 1278. He was the Duke of Austria , Styria , Carinthia and Carniola also....
at the Battle on the Marchfeld in 1278. From 1364 until 1919, Bled (Veldes) was part of the
Duchy of CarniolaThe Duchy of Carniola was an administrative unit of the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg Monarchy from 1364 to 1918. Its capital was Ljubljana...
, except for a stint between 1809 and 1816 as one of the
NapoleonicNapoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
Illyrian ProvincesThe Illyrian Provinces was an autonomous province of the Napoleonic French Empire on the north and east coasts of the Adriatic Sea between 1809 and 1816. Its capital was established at Laybach...
After the dissolution of
Austria-HungaryAustria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
in 1918, Bled came under the rule of the
Kingdom of YugoslaviaThe Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a state stretching from the Western Balkans to Central Europe which existed during the often-tumultuous interwar era of 1918–1941...
and became a summer domicile of the ruling House of Karađorđević, a tradition that President
Josip Broz TitoMarshal Josip Broz Tito – 4 May 1980) was a Yugoslav revolutionary and statesman. While his presidency has been criticized as authoritarian, Tito was a popular public figure both in Yugoslavia and abroad, viewed as a unifying symbol for the nations of the Yugoslav federation...
continued, when he built his residence here in 1947. Bled became an independent
municipalitySlovenia is divided into 211 municipalities , of which 11 have urban status.Slovene is an official language of all the municipalities. Hungarian is a second official language of 3 municipalities in Prekmurje: Dobrovnik , Hodoš and Lendava...
in 1996. In 2000, Bled became the home of
IEDC-Bled School of ManagementIEDC-Bled School of Management, located in Bled, Slovenia, is a Business School. It was founded in 1986 upon an initiative of Slovenian business community as the International Executive Development Center....
.
Tourism
Bled is known for the
glacialA glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
Lake BledLake Bled is a glacial lake in the Julian Alps in northwestern Slovenia, where it adjoins the town of Bled. The area is a popular tourist destination.-Geography and history:...
, which makes it a major tourist attraction. Perched on a rock overlooking the lake is the iconic
Bled CastleBled Castle is a medieval castle built on a precipice above the city of Bled in Slovenia, overlooking Lake Bled. According to written sources, it is the oldest Slovenian castle and is currently one of the most visited tourist attractions in Slovenia....
. The town is also known in Slovenia for its vanilla-and-cream pastry called
kremna rezinaKremna rezina is a vanilla and custard cream cake dessert commonly associated with the town of Bled, a popular Alpine tourist destination in northwestern Slovenia. The recipe cake was brought to the local Hotel Park in 1953 by Ištvan Kovačevič, chef of the hotel's confectionery store. He came to...
("cream slice") or
kremšnita.
NaturopathNaturopathy, or Naturopathic Medicine, is a form of alternative medicine based on a belief in vitalism, which posits that a special energy called vital energy or vital force guides bodily processes such as metabolism, reproduction, growth, and adaptation...
Arnold RikliArnold Rikli was a Swiss natural healer and physician....
(1823–1906) from
SwitzerlandSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
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 (
golfGolf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
,
fishingFishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
,
horseback-ridingEquestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...
) and is a starting point for
mountain treksBackpacking combines the activities of hiking and camping for an overnight stay in backcountry wilderness...
and
hikesHiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
especially within the nearby
Triglav National ParkTriglav National Park is a national park located in Slovenia and the only one in the country. It was named after Mount Triglav, the highest peak of the Julian Alps and a symbol of Slovenia and Slovenian character....
.
A small island in the middle of the lake is home to the
Assumption of MaryAccording to the belief of Christians of the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, and parts of the Anglican Communion and Continuing Anglicanism, the Assumption of Mary was the bodily taking up of the Virgin Mary into Heaven at the end of her life...
PilgrimageA pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...
Church; visitors frequently ring its bell for good luck. Human traces from
prehistoryPrehistory is the span of time before recorded history. Prehistory can refer to the period of human existence before the availability of those written records with which recorded history begins. More broadly, it refers to all the time preceding human existence and the invention of writing...
have been found on the island. Before the church was built, there was a temple consecrated to Živa, the Slavic goddess of love and fertility. One can get to the island on a traditional wooden row
bargeA barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Some barges are not self-propelled and need to be towed by tugboats or pushed by towboats...
called
Pletna. The island on
Lake BledLake Bled is a glacial lake in the Julian Alps in northwestern Slovenia, where it adjoins the town of Bled. The area is a popular tourist destination.-Geography and history:...
has 99 steps. A local tradition at weddings is for the husband to carry his new bride up these steps, during which the bride must remain silent.
Events
Bled hosted the
World Rowing ChampionshipsThe World Rowing Championships is an international rowing regatta organized by FISA . It is a week long event held at the end of the northern hemisphere summer and in non-Olympic years is the highlight of the international rowing calendar.The first event was held in Lucerne, Switzerland in 1962...
, for the 4th time in history, in
2011The 2011 World Rowing Championships, the 40th edition of the World Rowing Championships, were held at Lake Bled, Bled, Slovenia between August 28 and September 4, 2011....
. It previously hosted the Championships in 1966, 1979 and 1989. In 1961 the Grand Hotel Toplice in Bled was the site of one of most important international tournaments in chess history.
Notable people
- Slavko Avsenik
Slavko Avsenik is a Slovenian composer and musician. His career accomplishments place him at the worldwide pinnacle of success among ethnic popular musicians...
, musician and composer, born in BegunjeBegunje is a village in the Radovljica municipality in the Upper Carniola region of Slovenia. It is the location of the headquarters of the Elan Line company. The 12th century Kamen castle lies just outside the village and the 15th century Katzenstein mansion, rebuilt in the late 17th century, at...
near Bled on November 26, 1929
- Špela Pretnar
Špela Pretnar is a former alpine skier.In her career, Pretnar won six races in Alpine Skiing World Cup races, with 13 podiums altogether. In the 1999/2000 season, she won a small crystal globe in slalom. Pretnar was named Slovenian sportswoman of the year in 2000...
, skier, Olympic athlete, born in Bled on March 5, 1973
- Sara Isakovič
Sara Isakovič is a freestyle swimmer from Slovenia. She spent much of her childhood in Dubai. Isakovič was a member of the Žito Gorenjka Radovljica Swimming Club from Radovljica, Slovenia and trained under the supervision of coach Miha Potočnik.Isakovič competed for Slovenia at the 2004 Summer...
, freestyle swimmer, Olympic medalist, born in Bled on June 9, 1988
- Julius von Payer
Julius Johannes Ludovicus Ritter von Payer was an Austro-Hungarian arctic explorer and an Arctic landscape artist....
, Arctic explorer, born in Šanov, TepliceTeplice , Teplice-Šanov until 1948 is a town in the Czech Republic, the capital of the Teplice District in the Ústí nad Labem Region. It is the state's second largest spa town ....
on September 2, 1841, died in Bled on August 19, 1915
- Denis Žvegelj
Denis Žvegelj, born on June 24, 1972 in Jesenice, SR Slovenia is an ex Slovenian rower and Olympic medallist.-Rowing Achievements:Olympic Games*1992: Barcelona – 3rd place...
, rower, Olympic medalist, born in Jesenice on June 24, 1972
- Iztok Čop
Iztok Čop is a Slovenian rower and Olympic gold medallist.Iztok started rowing at the age of 13 in Bled, where Slovenia's best rowing club is located....
, rower, multiple Olympic medalist, born in Kranj on June 17, 1972
- Peter Florjančič
Peter Florjančič, is a Slovenian inventor and Olympic athlete. His successful inventions have included the perfume atomiser, plastic injection molding machines and the plastic photographic slide frame....
, inventor, born in Bled in 1919
Twin towns — Sister cities
Bled is
twinnedTwin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with:
Brixen (Bressanone)Brixen is the name of two cities in the Alps:*Brixen, South Tyrol, Italy*Brixen im Thale, Tyrol, AustriaBrixen may also refer to:*Bishopric of Brixen, the former north-Italian state....
,
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
Velden am Wörther SeeVelden am Wörthersee is a market town in the district of Villach-Land in the Austrian state of Carinthia. Situated at the western shore of the Wörthersee lake it is one of the most popular holiday resorts of Austria....
,
AustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
External links