Bled Castle
Slovenia's oldest recorded castle, on a cliff above Lake Bled, with a museum and painted chapel.
Bled Castle stands on a rock about 130 metres above Lake Bled and is the oldest castle recorded in Slovenia. A deed of 1011, by which Emperor Henry II granted the estate of Bled to the Bishop of Brixen, mentions a fortification on the site, and the bishops held the property for more than eight centuries. The Romanesque tower is the earliest surviving element; Gothic and Renaissance ranges, curtain walls and towers were added later, and the buildings were repaired after the earthquake of 1511.
The castle is arranged on two levels: a lower courtyard with service buildings, and an upper terrace holding the residential wing and the Gothic chapel, painted in the sixteenth century. The National Museum of Slovenia has installed a permanent display in the former living quarters, tracing the history of Bled from prehistory to the rise of the lakeside resort. Other rooms house a working replica of a hand printing press, a wine cellar, a smithy and a herbal gallery, and the ramparts overlook the lake and island.
Highlights
- Gothic chapel with sixteenth-century wall paintings
- Permanent history display by the National Museum of Slovenia
- Romanesque tower, the oldest surviving part of the castle
- Terrace views over Lake Bled, the island and the Julian Alps
![Afrique occidentale française : Cathédrale à St Louis / [photogr. Eugène] Gallois ; [photogr. reprod. par Radiguet et Massiot pour la conférence donnée par] Gallois](https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0a/Afrique_occidentale_fran%C3%A7aise_-_Cath%C3%A9drale_%C3%A0_St_Louis_-_%28photogr._Eug%C3%A8ne%29_Gallois_%3B_%28photogr._reprod._par_Radiguet_et_Massiot_pour_la_conf%C3%A9rence_donn%C3%A9e_par%29_Gallois_-_btv1b532798828.jpg/500px-thumbnail.jpg)
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![Théâtre de la guerre dans l'Inde sur la coste de Coromandel / par M.B.C.T. [Monsieur Bourcet Capitaine ?] ; gravé par Croisey](https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Fort_de_Calicuta_-_btv1b59706294.jpg/500px-Fort_de_Calicuta_-_btv1b59706294.jpg)
