Vila Bled through the ages
1883 – 1885
Austrian aristocrat Duke Ernest Windischgrätz built a large two-storey villa with corner turrets that resembled an English country mansion on the site where the Vila Bled stands today.
1902
Otto Windischgrätz, Ernest’s son, married Elisabeth, the Austro-Hungarian emperor’s granddaughter, in 1902. The first stop on their honeymoon was Bled, where they spent several days in the villa.
1922 –
The villa was owned by the Windischgrätz family until 1922, whereupon it was purchased by Alexander Karađorđević, the young, just married king of the new Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. His wife, Queen Mary, and their three children, were particularly fond of the place and spent all their summers here. The youngest, Prince Andrew, was born in the villa. The villa was renamed the Suvobor Mansion to commemorate an important victory by the Serbian army over the Austro-Hungarian empire.
In these times, Bled was an elite resort. Among others, members of the Romanian, Greek and English royal families spent their holidays here.
The Yugoslav royal family planned the construction of a new villa that was to be built close to the Suvobor mansion. The plans for this new royal residence were designed by the famous Slovene architect Jože Plečnik. However, by the time of King Alexander’s death in 1934, just the 30-metre pillars above the lake had been constructed, upon which the Belvedere Pavilion stands today.
Following Alexander’s death, the old building, the Suvobor Mansion, was torn down and construction of a new villa was begun in its place. The plans for this villa were designed by architect Fürst. However, this was interrupted by the advent of the Second World War, during which construction was continued.
After WW II
Construction of the unfinished building was taken over by architect Vinko Glanz. The original plans were slightly adapted and instructions by Tito were followed. Numerous valuable materials were used.
Until 1980
The building was completed in 1947, and served as the summer residence of President Tito for many years, where he hosted numerous official state visits. Tito welcomed many eminent dignitaries to the villa, including Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie, leader of the Soviet Union Nikita Khrushchev, King Hussein of Jordan, Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, his daughter and Indian Prime Minister Indira Ghandi, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Sirimavo Bandaranaike, Indonesian President Sukarno, President of Zambia Kenneth Kaunda, Emperor Akihito of Japan, Emperor of the Central African Empire Jean-Bédel Bokassa and even President of North Korea Kim Il Sung.
After 1984
The Vila Bled opened as a hotel in 1984 and was part of larger hotel groups. Its modern-day visitors have included Chancellor of Germany Helmut Kohl, Prince Charles, Prince Albert II of Monaco, Spanish King Juan Carlos, William Perry, Paul McCartney, William Hurt, Eva Herzigova, Laura Bush as well as numerous Slovene and foreign statesmen.
