Bled

Bled first appears in written records in 1004 as Ueldes, when the German king Henry II gave the area to Albuin, Bishop of Brixen, in thanks for the Church's support in northern Italy. A second deed of 1011 added the castle on its rock above the lake and a large area of land, which became the Lordship of Veldes. For the next 800 years Bled belonged to the prince-bishops of Brixen, some 300 km away, who rarely visited; from the mid-14th century they leased the estate, and under one 16th-century tenant the castle was for a time a Protestant stronghold. The bishops' rule ended in 1803, although the estate returned to them in 1838 as private property.

Human traces from prehistory have been found on the island, where a pilgrimage church has stood for centuries; its present form dates from near the end of the 17th century. Most historians date the first pletna boats carrying pilgrims to it to about 1590, and in 1740 Maria Theresa gave 22 local families the exclusive right to row them. The present town took shape only in the mid-19th century, from the villages of Grad, Mlino, Rečica, Zagorice and Želeče around the lake. The Swiss naturopath Arnold Rikli settled in Bled in 1854 and the next year opened a healing institute that made the town a health resort; with its mild climate it drew aristocratic guests from all over the world.

After 1918 Bled became a summer residence of the Karađorđević royal family of Yugoslavia, and in 1947 Josip Broz Tito built his own residence by the lake. The town has hosted the World Rowing Championships four times, most recently in 2011, the Chess Olympiad in 2002, and since 2006 the Bled Strategic Forum, an annual international conference.

Bled's culture is shaped by its role as a resort and a place of pilgrimage. Weddings are held regularly in the island church, and tradition says that a groom who carries his bride up the 99 steps will have a happy marriage, and that ringing the church bell grants a wish. The pletna oarsmen, rowing standing up with two oars, keep a craft handed down in local families; many descend from the 22 families given the right in 1740.

Music and festivals fill the summer. Festival Bled, an international classical music festival with masterclasses and a violin workshop, has been held since 1996, and Bled Days in late July bring crafts, local food and promenade concerts, ending with the traditional Bled Night, when about 15,000 small lights in eggshells are set on the lake. The town also hosts the Okarina festival, a traditional ethno-music event, and medieval days at the castle in early June. Its congress centre hosted the first two editions of Slovenska popevka, the country's song contest, and the international PEN congress twice.

Rowing is the town's sport: the lake has hosted four world championships as well as world and European masters regattas. Winter sports matter too, from the small Straža ski slope above the lake to the biathlon World Cup on Pokljuka.

About 5,200 people live in Bled, which is the seat of the Municipality of Bled and, though it lies just outside the park itself, the home of the administration and information centre of Triglav National Park. Tourism is the main business, with hotels, restaurants, the congress centre and a college of hospitality and tourism, and the town is also a centre of forest management for the eastern Julian Alps. The town is also a meeting place for conferences: the Bled Strategic Forum, founded in 2006, meets here every year, and the Writers for Peace Committee of PEN International has met in Bled each year since it was founded in 1984.

Life follows the seasons. In summer the lakeside is crowded with day visitors and coach groups, especially at weekends, while the town itself is made up of former villages around the lake such as Rečica and Želeče. In the quieter months the lakeside path is used by local walkers, runners and rowers, and in the coldest winters the lake freezes and people skate on it.

Bled's best-known food is its cream cake, kremšnita or kremna rezina — a cake of custard and whipped cream, a dessert commonly associated with the lands of the former Austro-Hungarian monarchy. The Bled version was first made in 1953 by a pastry chef from Vojvodina working in one of the lakeside hotels, and it has become the town's emblem, eaten in cafés on the terraces facing the island.

Beyond the cake, the town eats like the rest of Gorenjska. Carniolan sausage, kranjska klobasa, a parboiled sausage of pork and bacon, is served in the traditional inns, and štruklji, rolled dumplings with fillings such as ricotta or walnuts, appear on their menus. The shore road has restaurants serving fish, and nearby Radovljica has a museum devoted to beekeeping and the Carniolan bee, and a shop and museum of decorated gingerbread hearts. Prices around the lake are higher than in the surrounding villages.