Lake Bled is a lake in the Julian Alps of the Upper Carniolan region of northwestern Slovenia, where it adjoins the town of Bled. The lake is 35km from Ljubljana International Airport and 55km from the capital city, Ljubljana.
BLED CASTLE – according to written sources, the oldest castle in Slovenia, first mentioned in a 1011 donation deed as castellum Veldes.
Bled Castle (Slovene: Blejski grad, German: Burg Veldes) is a medieval castle built on a precipice above the city of Bled in Slovenia, overlooking Lake Bled.
Perched atop a steep cliff rising 130 metres above the glacial Lake Bled is a symbol of Bled and Slovenia – Bled Castle. The image of the castle forming a dramatic backdrop to the romantic island and the church on it has earned the resort worldwide recognition through the centuries. Castle terraces offer spectacular views of the lake and the island, down the Dežela area with Lesce and Radovljica and over to the mountain ranges of the Karavanke and the Julian Alps.
It has been over a thousand years since on 10 April 1004 the German king Henry II conferred the estate of Bled located in the province called in Carniola on Bishop Albuin of Brixen and his church. In 1011 Henry II awarded Albuin's successor, Adalberon, the castle on the cliff (castellum Veldes) in a charter in which the castle was first explicitly mentioned. The Bled Castle was the administrative seat of the Brixen estate in the Gorenjsko region. Medieval documents refer to Bled with its German name Veldes. In terms of written documents, Bled Castle is the oldest castle in Slovenia. Castle buildings are arranged around the lower and upper courtyards.
The Bled Castle offers the finest view of the Bled island, the town of Bled and of the wider countryside of the Gorenjska region.
The fame of Bled and its beauties was spread around the world by world travellers, including Janez Vajkard Valvasor and his Glory of the Duchy of Carniola of 1689.
Owing to its strategic geographic location, Bled has always been an important venue of high–level political and other official meetings. Its castle has been visited by a number of high-ranking statesmen who enjoyed the breathtakingly beautiful views of the surrounding nature.
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