Bled Collectors’ Days 2026: A Crossroads of Time, Stories, and Passion

The Bled Festival Hall will once again become a hub for collectors from across Europe on 13 and 14 March 2026. Following last year’s successful debut, which drew over 800 visitors and 60 exhibitors from nine countries, BLED Collectors’ Days returns with an even richer programme and new thematic highlights.

From Numismatics and Chess Heritage to Vintage Postcards and Minerals
Alongside the traditionally strong fields of philately, deltiology, numismatics, and collections of minerals and fossils, this year’s event features three exceptional exhibitions that further enrich the fair’s atmosphere.

The first is dedicated to the "Royal Game," featuring part of an exhibition marking the 90th anniversary of the Chess Federation of Slovenia. Over the decades, Bled has hosted some of the world’s most prestigious chess tournaments. During the Bled Chess Festival (9–15 March), this exhibition will revive memories of legendary moments from this noble game.

© SKIVIBE

The second central exhibition, titled "Wishing You All the Best – Greeting Cards Through Time," transports us to the aesthetic world of the 18th and 19th centuries. It traces the fascinating evolution from ornate visiting cards, personally delivered by messengers, to the boom of illustrated greeting cards after 1869. Visitors can admire various printing techniques, from lithography to hand-coloured photographs from the pre-1920 era, when these cards became essential items in collectors' albums due to their sheer beauty.

Special attention is also given to the exhibition "The Colour of Minerals" by the Slovenian Museum of Natural History. It reveals the fascinating brilliance of colours originating from the chemical composition and crystalline structure of minerals. You will discover minerals with inherent colours once used as pigments, as well as those whose noble appearance is gifted by traces of chromium, titanium, or iron—creating nature’s gems such as emeralds and rubies. The exhibition also explains the impact of structural defects in smoky quartz and inclusions that transform ordinary quartz into red jasper.

© Boris Pretnar

Lecture: The Inn and the Nation – The Story of Slovenian Identity Through Postcards
As part of Bled Collectors’ Days, we invite you to an extraordinary lecture by Milan Škrabec, a renowned collector and cultural heritage researcher who has spent decades breathing life into stories of our past.

Through the lens of his extensive postcard collection, we will peer into the spaces where the Slovenian nation was shaped. The "gostilna" (traditional inn) was never just a place for food and drink; it was the heart of national awakening, political debate, and cultural life. These small pieces of card, which once travelled across empires, now serve as historical documents: from proud Slovenian inscriptions and club flags to glimpses of everyday life that helped co-create our identity.

Join us on Friday, 13 March at 6:00 pm for an evening where small images will reveal grand stories about how history was written within the halls of the Slovenian inn.

© Boris Pretnar

An Opportunity for Professional Valuation
One of the event’s most popular features remains the free expert advice and valuation service. Organisers invite all visitors to bring their old coins, banknotes, stamps, postcards, or minerals from home. Recognised experts will be on hand to provide objective appraisals of your items.

© Boris Pretnar

Welcome to the World of Collecting
Join us in Bled, which for two days will become a crossroads of time, stories, and passion. The event will be open on both days between 9:00 am and 6:00 pm.

Tickets are priced at €5.00 and will be available at the venue and in the online shop. Entry is free for children and young people up to the age of 15, as well as for holders of the European Disability Card.

Come and join us in the world of collecting—at the crossroads of time, stories, and passion.