With immense natural beauty, Bled, together with its surroundings, ranks among the most beautiful alpine resorts, renowned for its mild, healing climate and thermal lake water. The beauty of the mountains reflected on the lake, the sun, the serenity and the fresh air arouse pleasant feelings in visitors throughout the year, guaranteeing an ideal base or a relaxing break or an active holiday. Bled attracts businessmen, artists, athletes, explorers, sport enthusiasts, the old and the young, from all over the world, enchanting them to return again and again.

Altitude 501 m, Castle Hill 604 m, Mt. Straža 646 m. Number of inhabitants 5476. Tourist capacity 4000 beds. Lake: altitude 475 m, length 2120 m, width 1380 m, area 144 ha, maximum depth 30.6 m, maximum annual water temperature is 26°C.

Curative Waters

The thermal springs which are led into the swimming pools at the Grand Hotel Toplice (23°C) and the Park and Golf Hotels (28°C - the water is additionally heated) enable pleasant swimming and successful treatment of stress related illnesses, exhaustion, neurovegetative disorders and age-related fatigue. Analyses of the thermal water at the Grand Hotel Toplice were performed by Dr. V. Kletzinski.

These show the temperature of the spring to be constant at 23°C. The breakdown of the analyses show that 10 litres of water contain 1520 cm3 of free carbonic acid and 5.36 g of naturally occurring salts: 0.12 g of sodium chloride, 0.57 g of sodium sulphuric acid, 0.30 g of sodium carbonic acid, 2.31 g of calcium carbonic acid, 1.16 g of magnesium carbonic acid, 0.44 g of carbonic iron oxide acid, 0.27 g of silicic acid, clay phosphoric salts, manganese and some other ingredients.

Climate

Bled's is a mild, healthy sub-Alpine climate with the longest swimming season of any Alpine resort. The ridges of the Julian Alps and the Karavanke protect it from the chilly northern winds. During the summer months there is no fog. The average monthly temperature in July is 19°C and in January -1.7°C.

Slovenia has only one island but its uniqueness makes it more attractive than many an archipelago. Sheltered by picturesque mountains, the island reigns in the middle of an Alpine lake. Its charm has made it a symbol for centuries of a town to which guests from all over the world love to return. This town, which has already existed for a thousand years, is BLED.

On the island in the middle of the lake, the ancient Slavs worshipped Živa, goddess of love and fertility. Pilgrims later came to the church of St Mary on the island. A thousand years ago, on 10 April 1004, the town of Bled was mentioned for the first time when the Holy German emperor, Henry II, gifted it to the Bishop of Brixen. At that distant time, a Roman tower already stood at the top of the cliff rising vertically 100 m above the lake, and it still forms part of the mighty castle that now houses a museum collection. 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. 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.

Cosmopolitan seekers of diversity and beauty, of relaxation and inspiration, tranquillity and the challenges of sport will find here a multitude of opportunities. Walking and coaching trails around the lake, traditional boats, ringing the island’s wishing bell, the castle treasures, the nearby ski pistes, mountain trails, golf courses, hunting, fishing, the casino, congress facilities – all these are but fragments of Bled’s attraction, which is truly worth experiencing. And those who experience it, long for it again and again….

The fertile land, the protective shelter of the castle hill and the island, have always invited the settlement of the Bled area. The first, and still rare traces of humans in Bled, date back to the Stone Age. In the Iron Age, when the mining of iron was began in the Alpine regions, settlement increased.

Beneath the layer of an already discovered Slavic necropolis at Pristava pod Gradom, archeologists discovered 80 gravesites from the late Iron Age (800 to 600 BC) - Celtic and Roman finds however, are more modest. Bled was later well populated by the Slavs, who arrived in two waves. The Slavic settlements were most probably located at exactly the same spots where the lakeside villages of Mlino, Želeče, Zagorice, Grad and Rečica formed in the late Middle Ages.

A number of gravesites are well known: Žale - the site of the modern day cemetery (archeologically excavated in 1894), the park at the current Vila Bled (1929), the necropolis in Želeče (1937), the large necropolis at Pristava pod Gradom (1948 to 1951), the gravesites next to the current parking area below the entrance to the castle (1960, 1968) and the necropolis on Bled island (1962 to 1966).

Slavic settlement

The first wave of settlement of the Bled area occurred in the 7th century, the next reached the Bled basin during the 9th and 10th centuries. Finds from the first settlements illustrate the culture of the Old Slavic state of King Samo (632 - 658) and the late antiquity traditions in these lands. Finds from the second wave of settlement, such as ornaments found in gravesites include enamelled and engraved earrings in the shape of a half-moons, circlets, round brooches and iron knives. These artefacts indicate the historical development of Bled up to the 10th century and some of these can be seen on exhibition at the Castle museum.

The bishops of Brixen

After the fall of the Old Slavic state, Bled with its surrounding area fell under Frankisch (Charlemagne 782) and later under German rule. In 1004 the emperor Henrik II divided the lands between the two Sava rivers, and in 1011 awarded Bled Castle, to Bishop Albuin of Brixen - a photocopy of the original title deed can be found in the collection at the castle. This action was a major turning point in the history of Bled. The keepers of the castle were bonded knights, who upheld feudal authority in the name of the bishops.

As a result, great changes occurred in the forming of estates and the settlement of the region. In the middle of the 14th century the Bishops of Brixen gave up direct administration of their properties in Bled and leased them to the chief administrators at the time, the von Kreigh family. Because of encroachment on their rights and brutal treatment and oppression, in 1515 the peasants joined the fight for the "old justice" in a pan-Slovene revolt.

In 1558 a new holder, the Protestant protector Herbert VII of Auersperg, took over the castle. Until the middle of the 18th century the lessors were exclusively aristocratic; later these also included townsmen, but they rarely lived in the castle. In 1803, after 800 years of Brixen rule, Bled passed into state ownership by a decree of the Court Commission in Vienna.

From 1809 to 1813, it was included in Napoleon's Empire as part of the Illyrian provinces, then it came once again into the hands of the Austrian Emperor who returned Bled to the bishops of Brixen for the last time in 1838. With the abolishment of the feudal system ten years later, the estate lost its character of a feudal economic and social unit. In the second half of the 19th century, Bled changed considerably. The characteristic villages of Gorenjska, which had been autonomous units ever since the Middle Ages, were united. Income decreased, and in 1858 Brixen sold the Bled estate to Viktor Ruard, the owner of the Jesenice Ironworks. He kept the castle, the lake and the usable land around it, and sold the rest to the Kranj Industrial Company. In 1882 Ruard sold the estate to a Viennese wholesale merchant named Adolf Muhr, and in 1919 Bled hotelier Ivan Kenda bought the castle with the lake - for the first time the property passed into Slovenian hands. In 1937 it was taken over by the Associated Commercial Bank and finally bought by the Drava Province. During World War II, Bled was used to house the German military and civil headquarters, and in 1960 it acquired the status of a town.

The lake was formed after the recession of the Bohinj glacier. It is up to 2120 m long and up to 1380 m wide, its maximum depth being 30.6 m and tectonic in origin. After the last Ice Age, the Bohinj glacier deepened the natural tectonic hollow and gave into its present form. The basin was filled with water when the ice melted. The lake has no large natural tributaries; it is fed only by a few springs.

This ravine in the immediate vicinity of Gorje, approximately 4 km north-west of Bled, was discovered by Jakob Žumer, the Major of Gorje, and the cartographer and photographer Benedikt Lergetporer in February 1891. The discovery was accidental and took place at a time when the water level of the Radovna river which flows through Vintgar was very low. They started their exploration in Spodnje Gorje and headed towards Blejska Dobrava. They made it through, the otherwise impassable ravine with great difficulty and discovered so much natural beauty that they decided to establish a construction committee. The gorge was arranged for visits, especially for visitors to Bled. It was opened to the public on 26th August 1893. The 1.6 km long Vintgar gorge carves its way through the vertical rocks of the Hom and Bort hills and is graced by the Radovna with its waterfalls, pools and rapids. The path leads you over bridges and Šumer’s galleries, and ends with a bridge overlooking the mighty 16 m high Šum waterfall. Due to its natural beauty, Vintgar was classified among the more important tourist sights in Slovenia and the number of visitors increases every year. From the Šum waterfall you can take the opportunity of walking up a picturesque footpath through Hom to St. Catherine-a historical church with a beautiful view. At the entrance, and at the Šum waterfall there are cafes serving refreshments. Access by car and buses is possible as far as the parking area in front of the entrance to the ravine.

This approximately 300 m long cave is adorned with beautiful stalactite formations. A special feature of this cave is spiral stalactites, so-called helectites, and large calcite crystals which are rear in Slovenia. The tradition of visiting this cave dates back to the 19th century and has continued to the present day through the Bled Society for Cave Research. The Society in co-operation has arranged paths and electrical lighting to enable safe access to the cave.

Organised visits are possible: May,June, July, August – Sundays at 10.00 a.m. or by agreement