Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Bled
04 / POP 10,900 / ELEV 501M
With its emerald-green lake, picture-postcard church on an islet, a medieval castle cling-
ing to a rocky cliff and some of the highest peaks of the Julian Alps and the Karavanke as
backdrops, Bled is Slovenia's most popular resort, drawing everyone from honeymooners
lured by the over-the-top romantic setting to backpackers, who come for the hiking, bik-
ing, boating and canyoning possibilities. Not surprisingly, Bled can be overpriced and
swarming with tourists in mid-summer. But as is the case with many popular destinations
around the world, people come in droves - and will continue to do so - because the place
is special.
History
Bled was the site of a Hallstatt settlement in the early Iron Age, but as it was far from the
main trade routes the Romans gave it short shrift. From the 7th century the early Slavs
came in waves, establishing themselves at Pristava below the castle, on the tiny island and
at a dozen other sites around the lake.
Around the turn of the first millennium, the German Emperor Henry II presented Bled
Castle and its lands to the Bishops of Brixen in South Tyrol, who retained secular control
of the area until the early 19th century when the Habsburgs took it over.
Bled's beauty and its warm waters were well known to medieval pilgrims who came to
pray at the island church; the place made it into print in 1689 when Janez Vajkard Valvas-
or described the lake's thermal springs in
The Glory of the Duchy of Carniola
. But Bled's
wealth was not fully appreciated at that time, and in the late 18th century the keeper of the
castle seriously considered draining Lake Bled and using the clay to make bricks.
Fortunately, along came a Swiss doctor named Arnold Rikli, who saw the lake's full
potential. In 1855 he opened baths where the casino now stands, taking advantage of the
springs, the clean air and the mountain light. With the opening of the railway from
Ljubljana to Tarvisio (Trbiž) in 1870, more and more guests came to Bled and the resort
was a favourite of wealthy Europeans from the turn of the 20th century right up to WWII.
In fact, under the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, Bled was the summer residence
of the Yugoslav royal family.
