Eastern and Central Europe (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

434 SOUTH EASTERN EUROPE

For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp446–7 and pp448–9

With its placid lake, fairy tale island church, clifftop
castle and girdle of grey mountains, Bled has become
a visual trademark for the Slovene tourist industry.
Although it emerged as a popular spa resort in the mid-
19th century, Bled’s key attractions today consist of
boat trips to the island church and excur sions into the
Alpine surroundings. Offering plenty of good hotels,
Bled also makes a good base for exploring nearby
places of interest such as the enchanting Lake Bohinj
and Triglav National Park (see pp436–9). In winter,
buses connect Bled with the skiing and snowboarding
centre at Mount Vogel, near Lake Bohinj.

Bled t

Bled Island

# Nov–Mar: 9am–4pm daily.

& - http://www.blejskiotok.si

Perched atop the

hummock-shaped Bled

Island (Blejski otok), the

creamy-ochre Church of the

Assumption (Cerkev Marijinega

vnebovzetja) occu pies a

site that has been sacred

for centuries.

The island initially served

pagan Slavs as a shrine,

inspiring a famous episode in

France Prešeren’s epic poem

“Baptism on the Savica” (“Krst

pri Savici”), in which the

Slovene prince, Črtomir, falls

in love with the beautiful

Bogomila, daughter of the

island shrine’s guardian.

After the region’s conversion

to Christianity, the island

became a focus of Catholic

pilgrimage. It has been asso-

ciated with the cult of the

Virgin Mary since the early

Middle Ages, when a wooden

chapel stood on the site of the

current church. Pilgrimages

boomed during the Baroque

} Lake Bled
Just over 2 km (1 mile) long,
2 km (1 mile) wide and 30 m
(98 ft) deep, Lake Bled
(Blejsko jezero) fills a hollow
gouged out by retreat ing
glaciers towards the end
of the last Ice Age. With
wooded hills surround ing
the lake and Alpine peaks
in the distance, it is nothing
less than truly entrancing.
The best way to soak in the
landscape is to walk along
the asphalt path which leads
right around the lake, a cir-
cuit that takes about an hour
to complete. The most stun-
ning views are from the
western end, with the church
spire on Bled Island set
against the stupen dous back-
drop of the snow-capped
Karavanke Alps.
On the southern shore of
the lake, visitors can stop by
the gardens of Vila Bled (see
p447), built for Yugoslav
strongman Josip Broz Tito in
1947 and now converted into
an upmarket hotel.

+ Bled Castle

Tel (04) 572 9782. # 8am–6pm,

daily. & 0 - = http://www.blejski-

grad.si

Dramatically located on a

sheer cliff overlooking the

lake’s eastern end, Bled Castle

(Blejski grad) began as the

11th-century stronghold of

the Bishops of Brixen, who

ruled over the area until 1803.

Rebuilt by various owners

over the years, the castle now

houses an absorbing museum

and a restaurant. The former

Boats moored on the forested lakeshore, Bled

Bled Castle, perched on a rock above the town

features an imaginative

audio-visual dis play, detail-

ing both the history of the

castle and the develop ment

of tour ism in the region.

Replicas of historical cos-

tumes recall the Slavs who

first settled in the area in

the 6th century, while a

natural his tory section

exhibits the 5th-cen tury

skel eton of an elk. The wine

cellar and herb gallery are

also worth a visit.

Outside, the castle terrace

commands an out standing

view, with the lake directly

below and the Karavanke

mountain range looming

in the distance.