Bistrica

Bistrica lay beneath a castle on a rocky height in the wooded country of Carniola. First recorded around 1300, the settlement drew on the strong karst springs and extensive forests nearby. Mills and sawmills were mentioned here by the first half of the 15th century, and the timber trade grew alongside them. The castle passed through the hands of local noble families before becoming Habsburg property in 1430; by the end of the century its earlier tower-like residence had given way to a more elaborate complex.