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Home Page > Travelogues > Slovenia > Bled
The Julian Alps dominate the northern half of
Slovenia. It is a region loaded with mountains, rivers, and lakes --
breathtaking scenery. Compared with other Alpine locales, Slovenia is less
renowned and less expensive, though word is spreading ...with great reason, of course. Bled is a great resort town. It (and its six boroughs) wraps around the beautiful Bled Lake, used by boaters and water skiiers in the summer. Sitting above Bled Lake in the above photo are Bled Castle and St. Martin's Church.
Bled Castle is a great place to visit... and I strongly
recommend marking your calendars in 2004 -- be sure to visit the Castle when it
celebrates its Millenium! Yes, you read it right ... this Castle was built
in 1004, The castle also has a high-quality restaurant, and one of the
greatest views you will ever see. The island below? That's Bled Island (are you detecting a pattern, perhaps?), dominated by a 900-year old church that was the seat of Tyrolean bishops for eight centuries. In pamphlets I read at the castle, this church's floor has recently been excavated and underneath were the remnants of churches built in the early days of Christianity. Sadly, given that this was a cold Sunday in November, I elected not to visit the island. But as you see below, there are dozens of wooden ferries making regular runs to the island in the summer.
Trip taken 11 November 2001 -- Page last updated 01 September 2006 -- (C) 2001 Tom Galvin Useful Links:
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rapidly. With the
country's great economic progress since its succession from Yugoslavia,
locations such as Bled, about 15 kilometers south of the Austrian border, are
handling more tourists than ever...
St. Martin's is similar to churches I've encountered among
former Austro-Hungarian countries (don't know the name of the style). At
the time the above photo was taken, Mass had recently concluded and the
parishioners were enjoying a Sunday coffee in the church courtyard. The
parishioners were of all ages, leaving one to imagine the same scene having
taken place for decades, possibly centuries.
and the banners celebrating the upcoming anniversary are already posted
all around! But don't go just for that, Bled Castle is a bargain at a
$2.50 (700 SIT) entrance fee, and the castle is loaded with great medieval
artifacts and a working 16th printing press (get your own old-style newspaper
for just a few bucks).
The main town is loaded with resorts, so can imagine the crowds
that better weather brings. Several new shopping centers have been built
and all the top-name brands are on display. Still, it was nice to wander
around the area and still see the lion's share of the area relatively untouched
by the new hordes of visitors that have come since 1991.
