Kamniška Bistrica, Village
Geography
Kamniška Bistrica is a scattered settlement along the headwaters of the Kamnik Bistrica River north of Grohat Hill (912 meters or 2,992 feet) to the southwest and Flat Hill (Slovene: Ravni hrib; 1,204 meters or 3,950 feet) to the southeast. It is accessible by a road from Stahovica. In the hamlet of Kraljev Hrib there is a cable car to the Big Pasture Plateau.
Name
The settlement takes its name from the Kamnik Bistrica River (Slovene: Kamniška Bistrica), the source of which lies in the central part of the settlement's territory. The epithet Kamniški differentiates the river from many other rivers named Bistrica. The name Bistrica refers to a swiftly flowing river and is derived from the Slavic adjective *bystrъ 'swiftly flowing, rushing'.
History
In the 16th century, the area was used for hunting by nobility and a table was set up in the Predoselj Gorge, where they would dine while on hunting expeditions. In 1826, draft evaders threw the table into the Kamnik Bistrica River, as a result of which the microtoponym Pri firštovi mizi ('At the Prince's Table') became established for the location. There was also a blast furnace in Kamniška Bistrica in the 16th century; it was recorded as owned by Jožef Žigan in 1739. In 1832, a queen mating station was established in the hamlet of Kopišča. The Bistrica Lodge at the head of the valley was built in 1902. The road into the valley was laid out in 1934. During the Second World War, the Partisans used the area as a refuge. They operated an underground print shop near Kopišča and set up a field hospital below Orličje Falls, which was active from the fall of 1943 to the fall of 1944. A bunker near the quarry at the south end of the valley was set up as a slaughterhouse and meat-processing facility.
