Bled, Slovenia

More beautiful sceneries, this time from Slovenia. This postcard was sent to me by the lovely Nives, who visited the area recently. I'm jealous! Slovenia is one the most beautiful countries in Europe, and some of the pictures I've seen from there make me think of New Zealand!



Bled is a municipality in northwestern Slovenia in the region of Upper Carniola. The area within the Julian Alps is a popular tourist destination. Bled is known for the glacial Lake Bled, which makes it a major tourist attraction. Perched on a rock overlooking the lake is the iconic Bled Castle. The town is also known in Slovenia for its vanilla-and-cream pastry called kremna rezina or kremšnita.

A small island in the middle of the lake is home to the Assumption of Mary Pilgrimage Church; visitors frequently ring its bell for good luck. Human traces from prehistory have been found on the island. Before the church was built, there was a temple consecrated to Živa, the Slavic goddess of love and fertility. One can get to the island on a traditional wooden row barge called Pletna. The island on Lake Bled has 99 steps. A local tradition at weddings is for the husband to carry his new bride up these steps, during which the bride must remain silent.

Bled Castle is a picturesque white and red castle enclosed by a Romanesque wall with parapets, ramparts, and towers. The current incarnation of the castle dates from the 17th century and was restored in the 1950s.



The card was mailed from Croatia. The stamp was issued in 2005, under the title Croatian cities, this one here being the city of Rijeka.