German Plätten 'flat-bottomed boat'. Some sources claim the pletna was used in Lake Bled as early as 1150 AD, but most historians date the first boats to 1590 AD. Similar in shape to Italian gondolas, a pletna seats 20 passengers. Modern boats are still made by hand and are recognizable by their colorful awnings. Pletna oarsman employ the stehrudder technique to propel and navigate boats across the lake using two oars. The role of the oarsman dates back to 1740, when Maria Theresa of Austria granted 22 local families exclusive rights to ferry religious pilgrims across Lake Bled to worship on Bled Island. The profession is still restricted. Many modern oarsmen descend directly from the original 22 families. Gastronomy The area's culinary specialty, a cream pastry (kremna rezina or kremšnita 'Cremeschnitte'), was designated a protected dish of designated origin in 2016 by the Slovene government. Although various Slovene cream pastries date back to the Habsburg era, the current "official" recipe was created in 1953 by Ištvan Lukačević, the former manager of the Hotel Park's patisserie. There is an annual festival dedicated to the pastry. It is estimated that 12 million cream pastries have been prepared at the Hotel Park's patisserie over the last 60 years. Gallery See also Tourism in Slovenia References External links Bled island website Lake Bled Tourism Bled Bled Bled Bled Sava basin Wetlands of Slovenia Islands of Slovenia