Bled Lake - Slovenia

 bled lake is one of the beautiful and romantic lakes located in the region of Slovenia. if we look further into this lake, we can find things that are beautiful and unique that we can not see in other places. for example, the beauty of the lake with a towering castle, various events which take place each year more and complete it's beauty. to better know a lot, I serve on its history and what happened in lake bled each year.

History of Bled

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 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 Gdrman 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. 

Bled today

Between the two world wars, Bled remained the most cosmopolitan spa in Yugoslavia and the summer residence of the Karadjordjević family, the Yugoslav royal family. It was also visited by many domestic and foreign guests. It became a centre of political and diplomatic life in the summer months. After World War II it continued its tourist tradition - its inhabitants took over and renovated many tourist-recreation facilities which passed into Slovene hands. Since Tito had a residence in Vila Bled, Bled was visited by many statesmen, politicians and culturati from Yugoslavia and abroad. Vila Bled has been renovated and is today a top category hotel which can accommodate even the most demanding guests. Arnold Rikli, however, has not been forgotten. On the 50th anniversary of his activities, his admirers erected a monument to him at Straža which can still be seen, as well as issuing a memorial plaque. On his 125th anniversary, the Bled Tourist Association erected a monument to him in the Spa Park.  

 Traditional events 

The most famous of Bled´s events is the "Bled Days". This happens on the 4th weekend of July each year. It is a beautiful sight with floating lights on the lake and fireworks to set the scene, as well as the "Home and Art Craft Fair" to see and various concerts on the Bled promenade to enjoy. On New year´s Day, you can listen to classical music at the traditional New year´s Day Gala Concert at the Festival Hall - Easter Sunday, however is the day for non other than the Easter Concert.

Within the setting of the "Merry December" festivities, you can buy gifts at the St. Nicholas Fair and the Christmas/New year Fair. Amongst numerous other events, one of the more interesting ones is "The Legend of the Sunken Bell" which happens on Christmas Day - and you must not forget to embark on a romantic stroll around the lake with flickering fire torches. It was for the first time in the year 1999 that we organized Rikli´s sports days in the beginning of July - this included an expedition to Straža following "the Rikli method" and various sporting tournaments.

This is many event that we can choose in  2013 if we want to go there :

1 January	TRADITIONAL NEW YEAR'S GALA CONCERT
February	17th TRADITIONAL HIKE AND TOUR SKI ON GALETOVEC
9- 12 February	CARNIVAL EVENTS
15 - 17 February	6th INTERNATIONAL HOT AIR BALLOON FESTIVAL
23 February	BLED WINTER SWIMMING CUP
February	EUROSANK 2013 - the most attractive slalom in the history of Slovenia
1 - 3 March	TOUR DE SKI GORJE - POKLJUKA
March	52nd FIS SKI WORLD CUP VITRANC KRANJSKA GORA
March	23rd POKLJUKA MARATHON ADRIATIC SLOVENICA
March	FIS WORLD CUP SKI JUMPING FINAL PLANICA 2012
12 - 17 March	EUROPEAN CURLING CHAMPIONSHIP
30 March - 4 April	EASTER EVENTS
10 April	MUNICIPALITY CELEBRATION
April	54th FIRST-MAY ROWING REGATTA
1 May	TRADITIONAL 1st MAY WALK INTO THE CAVE UNDER BABJI ZOB
11 May	27th FOLK-STYLE MUSIC EVENING »ALPSKI VEČER«
May	EUROPEAN TAEKWONDO CHAMPIONSHIP
May	45th INTERNATIONAL WRITERS' MEETING "P.E.N."- BLED MEETINGS
15 - 18  May	9th INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON CEREBRAL PALSY
25 - 27 May	CELEBRATION OF THE 105th ANNIVERSARY OF THE BRASS BAND ASSOCIATION GODBA GORJE
May / June	CASTLE WEDDING AT THE BLED CASTLE
June	7th MEDIEVAL DAYS AT THE BLED CASTLE
	4th SLOVENIAN HALF IRONMAN - LOVEMAN TRIATHLON
June	58th INTERNATIONAL ROWING REGATTA
25 June	THE NATIONAL DAY CEREMONY
June - July	18th INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL BLED 2013
July, August	BLED SUMMER WEEKLY PROGRAM 2013
7 July	15th TRADITIONAL RIKLI'S WALK
July	NIGHT'S 10 (NIGHT RUN AROUND LAKE BLED - 10 KM)
July	ST MARGARET'S FAIR AT BOHINJSKA BELA
19 - 21 July	BLED DAYS AND BLED NIGHT
August	23rd OKARINA ETHNO FESTIVAL BLED 2012
August	BOHINJSKA BELA - THE BEST FISHERMEN'S VILLAGE
August	SUMMER HOCKEY LEAGUE RUDI HITI
August	4rd HALF MARATHON BLED
September	BLED STRATEGIC FORUM
September	TRIATHLON BLED
September	BOLLE RUN AROUND THE LAKE
September	23rd NATIONAL ROWING CHAMPIONSHIP
September	JUNIOR GRAND PRIX OF FIGURE SKATING
November	EUROPEAN BROOMBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
16 November	FOLK-STYLE MUSIC HIT PARADE - OBERKRAINER
December	»MERRY DECEMBER« EVENTS
12 - 16 December	BIATHLON WORLD CUP
25 December	LEGEND OF THE SUNKEN BELL
26 December	ST. STEPHEN'S FAIR WITH BLESSING OF HORSES
29 December	MERRILY WITH OUR FOLK MUSICIANS
30 December	CIRCLE OF FRIENDSHIP AROUND LAKE BLED AND BLED WATER SYMPHONY
31 December	NEW YEAR'S CELEBRATIONS WITH FIREWORKS

above is a bit of information about lake bled. I hope the information that I provide can increase knowledge and increased knowledge of the places to be visited with family, spouse, friend. Thank you.

HTML Comment Box is loading comments...