In th city of Bled, northwestern Slovenia

 "In small churches, small saints are big." (Slovenian Proverb)

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(in the Julian Alps of the Upper Carniolan region of northwestern Slovenia) With its bluish-green lake, picture-perfect church on an islet, a medieval castle clinging to a rocky cliff, and some of the highest peaks of the Julian Alps and the Karavanke as backdrops, Lake Bled is Slovenia's most popular resort, attracting everyone from honeymooners lured by the romantic setting to backpackers, who come for the hiking, biking, water-sports, and canyoning possibilities.

+ The lake is 55 km (~34 mi.) from the capital city, Ljubljana. The lake lies in a beautiful environment, surrounded by mountains and forests. For centuries, Europeans have flocked to the shores of Lake Bled to enjoy recreation, but also the medicinal benefits. Emperor Henry II, ruler of the Holy Roman Empire, enjoyed the lake so much that he built Bled Castle in 1004 to confer it as an estate.
+ The lake surrounds Bled Island, which has several buildings, the main one being the pilgrimage church dedicated to the Assumption of Mary, built in its current form near the end of the 17th century, and decorated with remains of Gothic frescos from around 1470. The church has a 52 meter tower and there is a Baroque stairway dating from 1655 with 99 stone steps leading up to the building.

+ The traditional transportation to Bled Island is a wooden boat known as a pletna. (The church is frequently visited and weddings are held there regularly.) From 1809 to 1813, Bled was included in Napoleon's Empire as part of the Illyrian provinces, then it came (again) into the hands of the Austrian Emperor. In 1858 the Bled estate was purchased by 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 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 later bought by the Drava Province. In 1960 it acquired the status of a town.

+ The town of Bled that one sees today was composed of the villages around the lake basin. These villages Grad, Mlino, Rečica, Želeče and Zagorice emerged in the early Middle Ages. In the past hundreds of years, they grew, and merged to form a single settlement.

+ Between the two world wars, Bled remained the most cosmopolitan resort in what was then Yugoslavia. It became the center of political and diplomatic life in the summer months. After WWII, the locals continued with the tourist tradition, took over and renovated most of the catering and tourist-recreational facilities. Since the Yugoslav president Tito's had his residence in Villa Bled, many statesmen, politicians, and cultural workers visited Bled. (Villa Bled has been since converted into an upscale hotel.)