Lake Bled#Bled Island
{{Short description|Lake in northwestern Slovenia}}
{{more citations needed|date=April 2013}}
{{Infobox body of water
| name = Lake Bled
| native_name ={{native name|sl|Blejsko jezero}}
| image = Lake_Bled_from_the_Mountain.jpg
| caption = Lake Bled seen from Little Osojnica Hill
| image_bathymetry =
| caption_bathymetry =
| pushpin_map = Slovenia
| location = Julian Alps
| coords = {{coord|46|21|52|N|14|05|41|E|region:SI-003_type:waterbody|display=inline,title}}
| lake_type =
| inflow = Natural springs, Mišca
| outflow = Jezernica
| catchment =
| basin_countries = Slovenia
| length = {{convert|2120|m|abbr=on}}
| width = {{convert|1380|m|abbr=on}}
| area = {{convert|1.45|km2|abbr=on}}
| depth =
| max-depth = {{convert|29.5|m|ft|abbr=on}}
| volume = {{convert|0.0257|km3|abbr=on}}
| residence_time =
| shore =
| elevation = {{convert|475|m|ft|abbr=on}}
| frozen =
| islands = Bled Island
| cities = Bled
| reference =
}}
Lake Bled ({{langx|sl|Blejsko jezero}}) is a lake in the Julian Alps of the Upper Carniolan region of northwestern Slovenia, where it adjoins the town of Bled. The area is a tourist destination. The lake is {{convert|35|km|abbr=on}} from Ljubljana International Airport and {{convert|55|km|abbr=on}} from the capital city, Ljubljana. Lake Bled is {{convert|4.2|km|abbr=on}} from the Lesce–Bled train station.
Geography and history
The lake is of mixed glacial and tectonic origin. It is {{convert|2120|m|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|1380|m|abbr=on}} wide, with a maximum depth of {{convert|29.5|m|abbr=on}}, and it has a small island. The lake lies in a picturesque environment, surrounded by mountains and forests.
Lake Bled was an important cult centre during the Bronze Age. Gold appliqués dating from the 13th-12th century BC were found in a deposit by the lake shore. The embossed decorations on the appliqués are thought to represent the solar and lunar years. Similar appliqués have been discovered in Switzerland, Bavaria and Hungary, mainly in Bronze Age fortified settlements and in the graves of wealthy women.{{cite web |date=2022 |title=Two appliqués |url=https://www.nms.si/en/collections/highlights/417-Two-appliques |website=National Museum of Slovenia |quote=These extraordinary appliqués were part of treasures deposited in the Bronze Age as an offering to gods on the shore of Lake Bled. The prestigious gold appliqués also indicate that the lake was an important centre of a cult. ... Similar appliqués have been discovered in Switzerland, Bavaria and Hungary, mainly in Bronze Age fortified settlements and in the graves of wealthy women. ... The ornamentation bears markings of the solar and lunar year.}}
Medieval Bled Castle stands above the lake on the north shore and has a museum.Lake Bled Castle (https://safarinomad.com/lake-bled-castle/) The Zaka Valley lies at the west end of the lake.
The World Rowing Championships were held at Lake Bled in 1966, 1979, 1989, and 2011.{{Cite web |title=1966 Bled World Rowing Championships - Australian Rowing History |url=https://www.rowinghistory-aus.info/world-championships/1966-Bled.html |access-date=2022-05-25 |website=www.rowinghistory-aus.info}}{{Cite web |date=2014-10-21 |title=1979 Bled World Championships - Australian Rowing History |url=http://www.rowinghistory-aus.info/world-championships/1979-Bled.html |access-date=2022-05-25 |website= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021191533/http://www.rowinghistory-aus.info/world-championships/1979-Bled.html |archive-date=21 October 2014 |url-status=dead}}{{Cite web |title=World Rowing - 1989 World Rowing Championships - Blejsko jezero/Bled, Slovenia |url=https://worldrowing.com/event/undefined |access-date=2022-05-25 |website=World Rowing |language=en }}{{Dead link|date=June 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}{{Cite web |date=2016-03-19 |title=2011 World Rowing Championships / Overview - worldrowing.com |url=http://www.worldrowing.com/events/2011-world-championships/ |access-date=2022-05-25 |website= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160319205128/http://www.worldrowing.com/events/2011-world-championships/ |archive-date=19 March 2016 |url-status=dead}}
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. Today the castle is a popular tourist attraction.{{Cite web |title=All You Need To Know To Visit Bled Castle In Slovenia - Travel Slovenia |url=https://travelslovenia.org/bled-castle/ |access-date=2022-05-25 |website=TRAVELSLOVENIA.ORG – All You Need To Know To Visit Slovenia |language=en-US}}
Bled Island
The lake surrounds Bled Island ({{lang|sl|Blejski otok}}). The island has several buildings, the main one being the pilgrimage church dedicated to the Assumption of Mary ({{lang|sl|Cerkev Marijinega vnebovzetja}}), built in its current form near the end of the 17th century. It is decorated with remains of Gothic frescos from around 1470 in the chancel, and with rich Baroque furnishing.{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.dedi.si/dediscina/130-podruznicna-cerkev-marijinega-vnebovzetja-na-otoku-na-bledu |title=Podružnična cerkev Marijinega vnebovzetja na Otoku na Bledu |trans-title=Assumption Chapel of Ease on the Island in Bled |encyclopedia=Enciklopedija naravne in kulturne dediščine na Slovenskem – DEDI [Encyclopedia of Natural and Cultural Heritage in Slovenia] |first1=Simona |last1=Kermavnar |first2=Matija |last2=Turk |editor1-first=Mateja |editor1-last=Šmid Hribar |editor2-first=Gregor |editor2-last=Golež |editor3-first=Dan |editor3-last=Podjed |editor4-first=Drago |editor4-last=Kladnik |editor5-first=Bojan |editor5-last=Erhartič |editor6-first=Primož |editor6-last=Pavlin |editor7-first=Jerele |editor7-last=Ines |access-date=23 April 2013 |language=sl}}
The church has a {{convert|52|m|abbr=on|adj=on}} tower and there is a Baroque stairway dating from 1655 with 99 stone steps leading up to the building. The church is frequently visited and weddings are held there regularly. Traditionally it is considered good luck for the groom to carry his bride up the steps on the day of their wedding before ringing the bell and making a wish inside the church.
File:Full pletna in front of Bled Castle, Bled, 2013.jpg
The traditional transportation to Bled Island is a wooden boat known as a pletna.{{Cite web|url=http://www.bled.si/en/what-to-see/symbols-of-bled/pletna/Presentation|title=The Pletna boat - Bled|website=www.bled.si|access-date=2018-10-24}} The word pletna is a borrowing from Bavarian German Plätten 'flat-bottomed boat'.{{cite book|last1=Snoj|first1=Marko|title=Slovenski etimološki slovar|date=2003|publisher=Modrijan|location=Ljubljana|isbn=961-6465-37-6|page=527|edition=2}} Some sources claim the pletna was used in Lake Bled as early as AD 1150, but most historians date the first boats to AD 1590.{{Cite web|url=http://www.bled.si/en/what-to-see/symbols-of-bled/pletna/Presentation|title=The Pletna boat - Bled|website=www.bled.si|access-date=2018-10-24}}
Similar in shape to Italian gondolas, a pletna seats 20 passengers. Modern boats are still made by hand and are recognizable by their colorful awnings. Pletna oarsman employ the stehruder (standing rowing) technique to propel and navigate boats across the lake using two oars. The role of the oarsman dates back to 1740, when Maria Theresa of Austria granted 22 local families exclusive rights to ferry religious pilgrims across Lake Bled to worship on Bled Island.{{Cite book|title=Bled Slovenia|last=Sims|first=Davy|publisher=Firsthand Guides|year=2018|isbn=9781977025357|pages=137}} The profession is still restricted. Many modern oarsmen descend directly from the original 22 families.{{Cite web|url=http://www.bled.si/en/what-to-see/symbols-of-bled/pletna/Presentation|title=The Pletna boat - Bled|website=www.bled.si|access-date=2018-10-24}}
Gastronomy
The area's culinary specialty, a cream pastry (kremna rezina or kremšnita 'Cremeschnitte'), was designated a protected dish of designated origin in 2016 by the Slovene government.{{Cite web|url=http://www.rtvslo.si/news-in-english/slovenia-revealed/a-slovenian-resort-is-synonymous-with-a-cream-cake/348570|title=A Slovenian resort is synonymous with a cream cake :: Prvi interaktivni multimedijski portal, MMC RTV Slovenija|website=www.rtvslo.si|access-date=2018-10-24}} Slovene cream pastries date back to the Habsburg era.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/people-and-culture/food/the-plate/2015/10/02/lake-bled-cream-cake-a-confection-straight-from-the-storybooks/?user.testname=none|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181024192248/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/people-and-culture/food/the-plate/2015/10/02/lake-bled-cream-cake-a-confection-straight-from-the-storybooks/?user.testname=none|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 24, 2018|title=Lake Bled Cream Cake: A Confection Straight from the Storybooks|date=2015-10-02|access-date=2018-10-24}} The current "official" recipe was created in 1953 by Ištvan Lukačević, the former manager of the Hotel Park's patisserie.{{Cite web|url=https://www.sava-hotels-resorts.com/en/sava-hoteli-bled/gastronomy/the-original-bled-cream-cake|title=The original Bled cream cake - Sava Hotels & Resorts|last=d.o.o.|first=Renderspace d.o.o. & AV studio|website=www.sava-hotels-resorts.com|access-date=2018-10-24}}
There is an annual festival dedicated to the pastry. It is estimated that 12 million cream pastries have been prepared at the Hotel Park's patisserie over the last 60 years.{{Cite web|url=http://www.rtvslo.si/news-in-english/slovenia-revealed/a-slovenian-resort-is-synonymous-with-a-cream-cake/348570|title=A Slovenian resort is synonymous with a cream cake :: Prvi interaktivni multimedijski portal, MMC RTV Slovenija|website=www.rtvslo.si|access-date=2018-10-24}}
Gallery
File:Bled-Island-Castle-2021-Luka-Peternel.jpg|Bled Island with the church (left) and Bled Castle (right)
File:Bled island 2021.jpg|Bled Island
File:Lake bled 2021.jpg|Bled Island with Bled Castle behind
File:Lake Bled gold1.jpg|alt=Gold appliqués from Lake Bled, Late Bronze Age, 13th–12th century BC.|Gold appliqués from Lake Bled, Late Bronze Age, 13th–12th century BC{{cite web|url=https://www.nms.si/en/collections/highlights/417-Two-appliques|title=Two appliqués|website=National Museum of Slovenia|date=2022|quote=These extraordinary appliqués were part of treasures deposited in the Bronze Age as an offering to gods on the shore of Lake Bled. The prestigious gold appliqués also indicate that the lake was an important centre of a cult. ... Similar appliqués have been discovered in Switzerland, Bavaria and Hungary, mainly in Bronze Age fortified settlements and in the graves of wealthy women. ... The ornamentation bears markings of the solar and lunar year.}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons}}
- [http://www.blejskiotok.si Bled island website] {{in lang|sl}}
- [https://www.bled.si/en/what-to-see-do/attractions/1/lake-bled/ Lake Bled Tourism] {{in lang|en}}
{{Bled}}
{{Hydrography of Slovenia}}
{{Rowing World Championship Venues}}
{{Authority control}}