St. Martin's Church, Bled, Slovenia

The present neo-Gothic church, consecrated to St. Martin, was built in 1905 on the site of the previous Gothic church dating from the 15th century, although the very first chapel was erected here before the year 1000.

The new church was built following the plans of Prof. Friedrich von Schmidt (the architect of the Vienna City Hall), but these were consequently changed by architect Josip Vancaš – namely in their design of the interior. The majority of sculptures were made by restoration specialist Ivan Vurnik from Radovljica and were produced from the best Carrera marble.

The church was adorned with frescoes by painter Slavko Pengov between 1932 and 1937. In front of the church there is a garden signpost which was designed by the great Slovenian architect, Jože Plečnik, in the years before World War II. The well-preserved walls from the 15th century remind us of the periods of Turkish invasions to these lands.

This church was constructed by some of the greatest names of the Slovenian art and architecture, including Jože Plečnik. Take a look and admire the marvellous gothic architecture and frescoes.

References:

Turizem Bled

Religious sites in Slovenia

User Reviews

Jodie Bowpitt (2 years ago)
Lovely church on the island which was one part of the ticket to the museum and clock tower too. Got to ring the church bell for good luck too!

Peyman Ahmadi (2 years ago)
It is so exciting to visit this church and panaromic rooftop after a 10 minute boat ride. We had 40 minutes in the island to visit the church. It is 8 euro to ring the bell and visit the rooftop.

Isabelle the STAR! (2 years ago)
Solemn place, beautiful church in the middle of Lake Bled, Slovenia. You can take the boat or rent a kayak. There is also a mini museum in the vicinity where you can buy souveneirs. There is also a cafe'. Inside the church you can pull the rope to make the bell sound (I made a wish)

Bostjan Klemencic (2 years ago)
A popular tourist spot. The best view of the island can be from the Bled Castle, a mideval fort at the very edge of a cliff overlooking Bled. Highly recommended to visit!

Hans Laros (2 years ago)
Very touristy... 18 euro for a 10 minute boat trip, you get 40 minutes on the island, not a minute more. If your mobility isn't good, it might take 10 minutes or more to climb up, so you end up with 10-15 minutes to view the tiny church on the inside, for which they dare to charge another 12 euro. All in all a nice, quick trip, but very commercialized and you are basically hurrying to see anything. Note, this was outside high season so the number of visitors wasn't very high at all. The boat trip itself is the highlight and worth it. The church is not particularly special. The castle at the other side of the lake has great views down onto the lake. You might want to do that instead.

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Zvonimir Hrvoj

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St. Martin's Church

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