Bistra (; ''Intelligenzblatt zur Laibacher Zeitung'', no. 141. 24 November 1849, p. 14.''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 118.) is a small settlement in the

Municipality of Vrhnika The Municipality of Vrhnika (; ) is a municipality in Slovenia. The administrative seat of the municipality is the town of Vrhnika.

Inner Carniola Inner Carniola ( ; ) is a traditional region of Slovenia, the southwestern part of the larger Carniola region. It comprises the Hrušica (plateau), Hrušica karst plateau up to Postojna Gate, bordering the Slovenian Littoral (the Goriška, Gor ...

region of

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

Name

Bistra was attested in written sources as ''Frovnc'' in 1257, ''Vallis iocose'' in 1306, ''Freydenthall'' in 1350, ''Vistra'' in 1470, and ''Bistrae'' in 1481, among other spellings. ''Bistra'' and names like it (e.g., '' Bistrica''), as well as the German adaptation of the name as '' Feistritz'', are common in Slovene ethnic territory. Such names were originally

hydronym A hydronym (from , , "water" and , , "name") is a type of toponym that designates a proper name of a body of water. Hydronyms include the proper names of rivers and streams, lakes and ponds, swamps and marshes, seas and oceans. As a subset of top ...

s that were later applied to the settlements along rivers or streams with these names. The names are derived from Slavic ''*bystrica'' 'swiftly flowing river', from the Slavic adjective ''*bystrъ'' 'swiftly flowing, rushing'. Bistra is named after the Bistra River, a right tributary of the

Ljubljanica The Ljubljanica (), known in the Middle Ages as the ''Leybach'', is a river in the southern part of the Ljubljana Basin in Slovenia. The capital of Slovenia, Ljubljana, lies on the river. The Ljubljanica rises south of the town of Vrhnika and ...

. The settlement was known as ''Freudenthal'' in German.

Bistra Charterhouse

It is best known for Bistra

Charterhouse (monastery) A charterhouse (; ; ; ; ) is a monastery of Carthusian monks. The English word is derived by phono-semantic matching from the French word ''chartreuse'' and it is therefore sometimes misunderstood to indicate that the houses were created by cha ...

(also called "Bistra Castle"), a large complex that from 1260 housed the first

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

Carniola Carniola ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region that comprised parts of present-day Slovenia. Although as a whole it does not exist anymore, Slovenes living within the former borders of the region still tend to identify with its traditional parts Upp ...

. It was disbanded in 1782 upon a decree by the Emperor

Joseph II Joseph II (13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from 18 August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 29 November 1780 until his death. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Emperor F ...

. Since 1951, it houses the Technical Museum of Slovenia. The museum's collections comprise items related to

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

carpentry Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, Shipbuilding, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. C ...

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...

, and

transport Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...

, including a large collection of Tito's cars and several others that were used in the filming of ''

Schindler's List ''Schindler's List'' is a 1993 American epic historical drama film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg and written by Steven Zaillian. It is based on the historical novel '' Schindler's Ark'' (1982) by Thomas Keneally. The film follows ...

''.

Notable people

Notable people that were born or lived in Bistra include: *Bruno, 18th-century painter *

John Jager John Jager (Slovenized: ''Ivan Jager''; May 16, 1871 – October 31, 1959) was a Slovene–American architect and urban planner. John Jager was born in Bistra, Austria-Hungary (now Slovenia) at Railway Guard House 365A above the village, where ...

(1871–1959), designer and architect *Nicholas, 14th-century manuscript illuminator *

Štefan Primožič Štefan Primožič (November 17, 1866 – December 8, 1907) was a Slovenian teacher. He was the first head of the Ljubljana Institute for the Deaf. Life and work Primožič was born in Bistra, then part of Austria-Hungary. After a few years of ...

(1866–1907), educator

References

External links

*
Bistra on Geopedia

Populated places in the Municipality of Vrhnika {{Vrhnika-geo-stub