Bled
Bled | |
---|---|
Town | |
Coordinates: 46°22′7.69″N 14°6′50.31″E / 46.3688028°N 14.1139750°E | |
Country | Slovenia |
Traditional Region | Upper Carniola |
Statistical region | Upper Carniola |
Municipality | Bled |
Elevation | 507.7 m (1,665.7 ft) |
Population (2014) | |
• Total | 8,171 |
[1] |
Bled (pronounced [ˈbleːt] ; German: Veldes,[2] in older sources also Feldes)[3] is a town on Lake Bled in the Upper Carniolan region of northwestern Slovenia. It is the administrative seat of the Municipality of Bled. It is most notable as a popular tourist destination in the Upper Carniola region and in Slovenia as whole, attracting visitors from abroad too.
Name
The town was first attested in written sources as Ueldes in 1004 (and as Veldes in 1011).[4][5] The etymology of the name is unknown and it is believed to be of pre-Slavic origin. The German name of the town, Veldes, was either borrowed from Old Slovene *Beldъ before AD 800 or is derived from the same pre-Slavic source as the Slovene name.[5][6]
Geography
Bled is located on the southern foot of the Karawanks mountain range near the border with Austria, about 50 km (31 mi) northwest of the national capital of Ljubljana. South of Lake Bled are the densely forested Pokljuka and Jelovica plateaus and the easternmost parts of the Julian Alps, where the Sava Bohinjka river and the parallel Bohinj Railway lead to the Bohinj basin, Lake Bohinj, and the Triglav massif.
A number of rises (Grad 599 m, Straža 646 m, Kozarca 558 m, Osojnica 756 m, and Ravnica 729 m) separate the localities of Bled around the lake, the former villages of Grad, Mlino, Rečica, Zagorice, and Želeče.
The lake is 2.12 kilometres (1.32 mi) long and 0.5 to 1 kilometre (0.31 to 0.62 mi) wide. In summer, the surface water reaches 25 °C (77 °F) and retains a temperature up to 18 °C (64 °F) until autumn. As such, it is suitable for swimming. During colder winters, the entire lake freezes and can be used for ice skating; the island can then be reached on foot.
There is a thermal spring (23 °C or 73 °F) near the lake, next to the Bled Fault. Its water is used in indoor pools in two hotels.
Year | Pop. | ±% |
---|---|---|
1948 | 3,387 | — |
1953 | 3,844 | +13.5% |
1961 | 4,156 | +8.1% |
1971 | 4,756 | +14.4% |
1981 | 5,644 | +18.7% |
1991 | 5,767 | +2.2% |
2002 | 5,252 | −8.9% |
2011 | 5,181 | −1.4% |
2021 | 5,181 | +0.0% |
Population size may be affected by changes in administrative divisions. |
History
Early medieval history
A settlement area since Mesolithic times, the present-day locality probably arose about 600 during the Slavic settlement of the Eastern Alps. After the Slavic principality of Carantania was conquered by Frankish forces in 788, the area came under Bavarian influence.
Feudal estate
German King
The bishops very seldom visited their remote possession 300 km away. Initially, the lordship was administered by ministeriales (bonded knights), castellans, and castle staff in accordance with feudal practices, but in the middle of the 14th century the prince-bishops decided instead to lease the estate. Under one of the 16th-century lessees, Bled Castle became a Protestant stronghold for a time. When the leasehold era came to an end, the prince-bishops began to appoint governors to manage their distant lordship. Until the middle of the 18th century, those administrators were exclusively aristocratic, but later they included non-nobles.
In 1803, Brixen's rule came to an end when the prince-bishopric was secularized in the course of the
After the dissolution of Austria-Hungary in 1918, Bled and the rest of Carniola came under the rule of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and became a summer domicile of the ruling House of Karađorđević, a tradition that Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito continued when he built his residence here in 1947.
Modern settlement
Today's town began to form in the mid-19th century from the villages of Grad, Mlino, Rečica, Zagorice, and Želeče, which encircled the lake. At that time, farmers started to sell the land along the eastern lakeshore to wealthy individuals for their villas, and the villages of Grad, Zagorice, and Želeče began to merge. Bled was officially made a town in 1960.
Tourism
Bled is known for the
A small island in the middle of the lake is home to the Assumption of Mary Pilgrimage Church; visitors frequently ring its bell, due to an old legend claiming it provides good luck.
Human traces from
Transport
The town is served by two railway stations:
Events
Bled hosted the World Rowing Championships for the fourth time in history in 2011. It previously hosted the championships in 1966, 1979, and 1989.[9]
In 1961 the Grand Hotel Toplice in Bled was the site of one of the most important international tournaments in chess history. In 2002, the 35th Chess Olympiad was held in the city.
Bled hosts one of the largest Lindy Hop events, known as "Swing Bled".[10]
Notable people
Notable people that were born or lived in Bled include:
- Prince Andrew of Yugoslavia was born in 1929 in Bled.
- Iztok Čop (born 1972), rower, multiple Olympic medalist[11]
- Peter Florjančič (1919–2020), inventor and Olympic athlete
- Janez Klemenčič(born 1971), rower, Olympic bronze medalist. Now a restaurateur in Bled.
- Karel Mauser (1918–1977), poet and author
- Valentin Plemel (1820–1875), botanist[12]
- Josip Plemelj (1873–1967), Slovene mathematician
- Špela Pretnar (born 1973), skier, Olympic athlete
International relations
Twin towns / sister cities
Bled is
- Brixen (Bressanone), Italy
- Henley on Thames, United Kingdom
- Velden am Wörther See, Austria
See also
- St. Martin's Parish Church, Bled
References
- ^ Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia
- ^ Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru, vol. 6: Kranjsko. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 146.
- ^ de Luca, Ignaz. 1790. Geographisches Handbuch von dem östreichischen Staate, vol 2. Vienna: Johann Paul Krauß, p. 137.
- ^ "Bled". Slovenska historična topografija. ZRC SAZU Zgodovinski inštitut Milka Kosa. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
- ^ a b Snoj, Marko (2009). Etimološki slovar slovenskih zemljepisnih imen. Ljubljana: Modrijan. p. 65.
- ^ Bezlaj, France (ed.). 1977. Etimološki slovar slovenskega jezika, vol. 1, A–J. Ljubljana: SAZU, p. 26.
- ^ "Bled, Slovenia - Official Site".
- ^ "Bled castle - History". Archived from the original on 2015-06-14. Retrieved 2015-06-13.
- ^ [1] Archived April 12, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Swing Bled
- ^ "Iztok COP | Olympic Athlete | Athens 2004, Atlanta 1996, Barcelona 1992, Beijing 2008, Innsbruck 2012, London 2012, Sydney 2000". Olympic.org. Retrieved 2013-03-26.
- ^ "Valentin Plemel (1820–1875)". Slovenska biografija. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
External links
- Media related to Bled at Wikimedia Commons
- Bled on Geopedia
- Official website