Бистрица: История района Нови-Сада и его названий

Bistrica , also known as Novo Naselje , is an urban neighborhood of the city of Novi Sad, Serbia. Bistrica (including Satelit) is one of the most populated urban areas of the city.

The old name of the settlement was Novo Naselje, but it was officially changed to Bistrica in 1992. However, most of the inhabitants of the settlement still prefer to use the old name. In Hungarian the place is known as Újtelep. Satelit neighborhood would get its name due to the launch of the Sputnik 1 satellite in 1957, starting the space era craze, as well the neighborhood being located far from the majority of the city (as a satellite to the city). Tozinovac neighborhood would get its name after the mayor of Novi Sad at the time, Todor Jovanović Toza.

According to old maps from the 16th and 17th centuries, the old Serbian village of Bistrica existed in the area of today's Novi Sad, before the city was founded in 1694. It is not known what happened with the old settlement, since from the 18th century the place has not been mentioned on any of the existing maps. The official name of the modern neighborhood was given from the name of this village. In 1528, the cartographer Lazarus drew a map of the area where Novi Sad is located today, where the site called Bistritz (Bistrica) was located. The mention of Bistrica on the old maps was researched by the historian Pavle Stanojević, former director of the Vojvodina Archive. The name Bistrica was mentioned on seven maps dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries. On them, a neighborhood at the other side of the Petrovaradin Fortress was called Bistrica. Among other things, the name appears on the map of the famous Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator (1512 1594), who placed the cartography on a strictly scientific basis. Name Bistrica is of Slavic origin (notably Serbian) that denotes a fast river or stream. Toponyms bistrica and bistra are common among Slavs, and appear in all areas where Serbs have lived. According to Ammianus Marcellinus, a fourth century Roman historian, there existed a Roman villa called Pistrensis Villa, on the left bank of the Danube. Here the future Roman Empress Constantia, wife of Emperor Gratain, was almost captured by Sarmatians. She barely escaped to Sirmium. According to some opinions, Slavic Bistrica from later time period might be a corruption of Pistrensis. Jacob Hofmann in his Lexicon of Universal History, 1698, mentions the place. This would actually date the origin of name of the area to at least 374 ad. It is not possible to say with certainty which part of today's Novi Sad was the location of the old settlement of Bistrica. There is no evidence that it was located in the area of the modern neighborhood of the same name. Archaeologists have found the remains of a medieval village in the Bistrica Novo Naselje area, although they did not identify them with old Bistrica. It is thought that these remains are actually part of the former settlement of Donje Sajlovo.

It is indisputable that there were two larger forests in the area of today's Bistrica neighborhood during the Middle Ages: Gornja (Upper) and Donja (Lower). The Gornja (or Čenejska) forest was in the northwestern part of modern Bistrica neighborhood, towards Sajlovo, while Donja forest, with an area of about 340 hectares, was in the southern part of the modern Bistrica neighborhood. They were vibrant woods, full of tough lichen, oaks, elm trees and poplars. The first issues that came with the legal rights to use this space came after 1748, when Novi Sad became the free royal city with its own administration. At this time, there were squabbles between the city administration and the rulers from Futog over the land boundaries, including the water passages. Because of the unresolved ownership problems, the workers of the Futog estates would break the water embankments. At that time, the Donja Forest relied on the Futog Forest. Through these forests, a road passed to Futog, then to Vienna and the rest of Central Europe. The last of the Futog rulers was Count Chotek. After the elongations, Novi Sad residence would make the Donje Forest into a picnic ground, 6 kilometers away from the center of the city. At the beginning of the forest, the alleys and playgrounds have been decorated in the style of similar parks in Vienna, which is why the residence of Novi Sad named this part of the forest Prater. In front of Prater was the Pejić family tavern, which was set on fire during the Hungarian Rebellion. In the Hungarian Rebellion (or the Serbian Movement), between 1848 and 1849, the Donje forest was severely damaged due to extensive logging. The Magistrate tried to restore the thinning forest by planting saplings in the period of 1874–1876. In 1877, a section was set aside for the Bostanluk, but due to the pressures of mostly the Rotkvarija residence, the forest was increasingly shrinking and slowly disappearing. After the First World War, the last parts of the forest was gone. Accounts from older Novi Sad residence tell of three poplar trees that were the last remnant of the Donje forest that were cut down after World War II when Jugoalat was built. The northern part of this territory was mostly grassland, and since 1913 was the location of the first Novi Sad airport. After World War II, the airport was transferred to Batajnica for strategic reasons. The reminder of the old airport can be found at the famous "Pilot" pub in the center of Detelinara neighborhood.

According to the book by Dr. Slobodan Ćurčić (Naselja Bačke geografske karakteristike, Novi Sad, 2007), houses existed in the eastern part of today's Satelit neighborhood as early as 1952. Construction on this site continued from 1956 to 1957, with construction of first houses and buildings in the central Satelit area known as Tozinovac. This building phase lasted with extreme intensity until 1963. The first elementary school in the neighborhood, Miloš Crnjanski (originally named Boris Kidrič), was built in 1962. In early 1978 Dr. Natalija Nataša Reba was appointed, as deputy director of the Construction Land Institute, as the head of social oriented construction in Novo Naselje, and her husband Blagoje Reba (1938 2002) designed a large number of the housing units in Novo Naselje. The first buildings outside of the Satelit neighborhood were constructed in Bate Brkića street (today's 18 26 street numbers) by the Neimar enterprise (which would be responsible for most of the building construction in the coming decades). Those first high rises were wide buildings, with 8 stories of residential apartments as well as space for local shops, craftsmen, merchants and lodges. From 1978, construction continued after a short pause. In late February, rapid snow melt would cause underground water issues, due to the neighborhood being located in a wetland environment. In some areas the water was half a meter deep, with some buildings (A 4) having its foundations submerged in a pool of water. The city would place several cisterns that would continuously pump out the water until the issue was resolved. from the Institute of Physical Culture of Vojvodina. Taking up 7,100 square meters, Prva Vojvođanska brigada, would be located in Seljačkih Buna street. First students would be accepted in the 1980/1981 school year, with all construction work being completed in 1981. At that time this was the largest school in the city, but its capacity would exceed expectations, leading many students to sign in Miloš Crnjanski school as a result. Gradually the outer façade would be covered with white paint, with red paint coloring the window relief patterns, relief lines below the domes, outlines on the towers, and the entrance columns. The outer façade would be fully painted by the end of 2019. In August 2021, the green area and pathways around the church would be tidied up by the end of the year. A small playground would be constructed in its eastern end.

After the economic crisis and sanctions of the 1990s, constructions in Bistrica halted for some time. Between 2000 and 2020, most of Tozinovac was dismantled to make way for the Bate Brkića Boulevard extension, connecting it with Futoša road. Several new apartment buildings were constructed in the southern parts of Bate Brkića. Several road extensions for Jovana Dučića Boulevard were done, connecting the neighborhood with Veternik with Dragoslava Srejovića street. By the General Urban Plan of Novi Sad for 2030, the remaining empty land areas in Bistrica and its surrounding neighborhoods are planned to be filled with new apartment blocks, public leisure and sports parks, schools, recreational centers, fire and police stations, commercial and business buildings, and cultural centers (museums, galleries, libraries, and other gathering areas for local cultural events). The remained of the houses located in the Satelit Tozinovac area are planned to be demolished to make room for apartment buildings, as well as the reconstruction of the Satelit fresh market and elementary school "Miloš Crnjanski". Most of the western part of Subotica Boulevard (Europe Boulevard) is planned for residential and business buildings. There are plans to reintroduce a tram line through Jovan Dučić and Knez Miloš Boulevards. Most of the newly planned constructions would shrink the remaining heavily tree covered green spaces around the neighborhood, with parts of the current tree nursery garden marked as a construction zone, as well as shrinking the green spaces next to the Subotica Boulevard (Europe Boulevard). In Jugovićevo, a neighborhood closely linked with Bistrica, an eco neighborhood is planned with a park forest, despite the area having low tree cover and historically being a wetland with underground water issues.

An offset of the Novi Sad City Library is located in Bistrica. The orthodox church of the Translation of the relics of Saint Sava, locate at the corner of Jovana Dučića Boulevard and Radomira Raše Radujkovića street, is the religious center for many Bistrica residence, especially during religious holidays such as Christmas Eve. While currently still under construction (church interior and bell tower), the church itself is open for the public and for religious use. Bistrica neighborhood has several annual cultural festivals. The organization Novo kulturno naselje was founded by Bistrica locals in 2014 with the main focus of promoting culture (especially among the youth in the context of creative expression through cultural artistic programs), protecting the environment, promoting tolerance and acceptance in the community, and for Bistrica having its own cultural center (located in the area of the former seat of the Podunavlje municipality). The Novosadska biciklistička inicijativa (Novi Sad Cycling Initiative), formed on 18 September 2011, would hold an annual bicycle rally called Novosadska Kritična masa (Novi Sad Critical Mass). The bicycle rally paths would often go through or at the edges of Bistrica neighborhood, allowing locals from all walks of life and age ranges to participate in the event. The rally and other such bike related events are done for the goal of the promotion and development of urban cycling, as well as promoting and educating a culture of safe traffic and tolerance among road users. The Za zeleno Novo naselje (For Green Novo Naselje) group was formed by Bistrica locals in 2015. Since then, goal of the group is to protect the remaining green spaces located in the Bistrica neighborhood from rapid urban development, as well for better and more humane quality of living for all citizens. They achieve this through activism, petitions, and spreading awareness about local issues. The group also corresponds with other similar ecological movements around the city, such as the "Dunavac Sordoš Informal citizen initiative".

The neighborhood has numerous privately owned bakeries, restaurants, and cafes, showcasing typical Serbian and international food and drinks. Most notable ones are Cafe pizzeria Alo (opened since 1984) in Bate Brkića 24, Cafe pizzeria Gambriano (opened since 2001) in Stojana Novakovića 29, and Štrafta Fast Food (opened since 2017) in Slobodana Jovanovića 18.

Bistrica, just as many neighborhoods in Novi Sad, has commercial areas integrated with residential areas such as: small business centers, banks, trade and craft shops, supermarkets, etc. Most Bistrica residence also use the commercial areas at the very edge of Jugovićevo and Telep neighborhoods.

Historically, the Novi Sad railway passed at the eastern edges of the neighborhood. With the dismantling of the southern city railway connections (moving the railway station from Liman to Boulevard of Jaše Tomića), most of the railway infrastructure was gradually dismantled over the following decades. The old train yard (built in 1921 from the alleged designs of the Gustave Eiffel bureau) was used by freight trains until 2021, when the last railway rails were dismantled and removed following the opening of the new park. There are currently plans to restore the old train yard and use it as part of a larger central park complex connected with the newly made park via a pedestrian bridge. In the western part of Bistrica is the seat of Javno Gradsko Saobraćajno Preduzeće (the cities public transportation company). Bus lines 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 13, 18, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, and 56 connect this neighborhood with other major city neighborhoods, as well as some surrounding settlements (Adice, Futog, Veternik, and Begeč). The neighborhood has cycling infrastructure, with larger boulevards and streets having segregated cycling roads from pedestrian pathways. Bike racks are located in front of most major public and commercial buildings. Since 2014 with the "Vratimo Novi Sad Biciklistima" initiative (which started in Novi Sad in 2009), NS bike, a local bike renting service company, has its own bike rack area in Jovana Dučić Boulevard. The renting service is available from the start of the cycling season in April and ends in December. While taxi companies function throughout the city, there are three taxi ranks in the neighborhood, at Jovana Dučića Boulevard next to Univer Export supermarket (with 26 taxi parking spaces), Seljačkih buna street at Gerontology Center (with 7 taxi parking spaces), and at Futoška road next to Satelit fresh market (with 8 taxi parking spaces). Notable Bistrica streets are: Jovana Dučića Boulevard, Slobodana Jovanovića Boulevard, Subotica Boulevard or Europe Boulevard, Vojvode Stepe Boulevard, Kneza Miloša Boulevard, Futoška road, Radomira Raše Radujkovića street, Bate Brkića Boulevard, Somborska ramp, etc.

Bistrica has two primary schools: Prva vojvođanska brigada (built in 1980) and Miloš Crnjanski (built in 1962). It has a school for primary and secondary education "Milan Petrović" (built in 2011). Bistrica has three kindergartens under the preschool institution of Radosno Detinjstvo: Bajka (built in 1969), Vendi (built in 1980), and Guliver (built in 2008). The neighborhood also has several private kindergartens.

The community health center Novo Naselje Bistrica is the main health center for the entire neighborhood. During the COVID 19 pandemic, the health center was made as the main respiratory ambulance for the city, as well as the primary location to get vaccine shots for the virus. Most of the community health center staff such as nurses and doctors were reassigned to other health centers around the city during the pandemic, leaving most of the Bistrica residence to go to other health centers around the city where their assigned doctors were for other medical issues. The neighborhood also has several private medical clinics and dentists (including one veterinarian clinic), as well as one of the larger retirement homes in the city.

The Mladost football club and their stadium is located between the Boulevards of Jovana Dučića and Kneza Miloša. Since march of 2022, the club's football stadium and arena were reconstructed after six months of construction work, with renovated club building and the seating areas renovated and expanded, being able to seat 1.400 spectators and host larger football matches.

The neighborhood also has several private tennis schools, as well as private and public gyms. While Bistrica has numerous public green spaces between buildings due to the urban planning of the 1970s and 1980s, the neighborhood also has several parks. Parks such as Bistrica and Igralište are existing green spaces (originally locations of several atomic shelters for surrounding building residence) repurposed into parks, while the new narrow park (built in 2021) in Radomira Raše Radujkoviča street is a park built from mostly unused city land. The neighborhood also has several dog parks. Originally, a sports center and a local swimming pool were planned at the corner of the Boulevards of Jovana Dučića and Bate Brkića, but the construction was halted since 2006 with no clear indication of when it would continue. Currently its location is used for the "Buvljak" flee market (previously located in the area what is now the southern end of the Bate Brkića Boulevard).