Ilirska Bistrica is a town in the Inner Carniola region of southwestern Slovenia. It is the administrative seat of the Municipality of Ilirska Bistrica.

Geography

The town centre is located on the ancient road from Postojna and Pivka to Rijeka on the Adriatic coast. It is situated in the valley of the Reka river, on the steep rim of the densely wooded Snežnik plateau in the northeast. In the southwest, the Brkini Hills form the natural border with the Slovene Littoral (Slovene Istria) historical region.

History

Bistrica Castle as documented by Johann Weikhard von Valvasor, 1679
In the 12th century a fortress was erected at the site of a prehistoric settlement on a hill east of the town centre, when the area was part of the Imperial March of Carniola. The castle later was held by the Counts of Duino, from the 14th century onwards by the princely House of Auersperg in Postojna.

The settlement of Ilirska Bistrica itself was first mentioned about 1300; its advantageous location, the surrounding karst springs and extended forests promoted the economic development of numerous sawmills and a flourishing timber trade from the early 15th century onwards. Located in the Duchy of Carniola the town for centuries was part of the Habsburg Monarchy. In the 19th century, the Ilirska Bistrica wood merchants mainly supplied the Austrian seaports of Trieste and Rijeka. In 1873 a railway line was opened by the Austrian Southern Railway company, running from Pivka and the Southern Railway line via the Ilirska Bistrica railway station to the coastal cities of Opatija and Rijeka.

Within the last 100 years, the town’s history has been primarily shaped by the nations that it has belonged to. Ilirska Bistrica became part of the Austrian part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1867, it was annexed by the Kingdom of Italy in 1920, it became part of Yugoslavia after World War II, and today it belongs to independent Slovenia. Remnants of these various states can still be seen in numerous monuments, the railway station, and the Italian barracks from the Second World War.

Mayor

Župan Občine Ilirska Bistrica
Emil ROJC

Soba: 1/II
Telefon: 05/71 41 361
Faks: 05/71 41 284
E-naslov: obcina.ilirska-bistrica@ilirska-bistrica.si