BLED CASTLE
Bled
Castle is considered to be one of the oldest medieval castles
in Slovenia. It was first mentioned in 1004 when the German
Emperor Henrik II gave it to the Bishops of Bixen. At that time
there was only a tower there. The castle itself was mentioned
in 1011. In 1858, the Bishops sold their property and it went
from owner to owner. Since 1999 the castle's owner has been
the state.
To
get to the castle visitors must go up a steep paved path, cross
a wooden drawbridge and pass through several fortified walls
to the lower courtyard with a fountain and the upper court yard
with the chapel. The chapel, dedicated to the bishops St Albium
and St Ingenium, was designed in the 16th century. The castle
was renovated after a fire in 1622, rebuilt first after an earthquake
in 1690 and again at the end of World War II. The drawbridge
is now only a tourist attraction, because the moat is filled
in. The castle stands on a rock about 100m above the well-known
Bled Lake in the Gorenjska region. From the terraces there are
magnificent views towards the Julian Alps, the lake and the
island below the castle in the direction of the Karavanke. The
upper residential buildings, which have been converted into
a museum, carry the seal of the 18th century. In the castle
you can find many frescoes depicting the history of the Bled
region. It is worth the visit.
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