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. Woods and picnic grounds 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