Slovenska Bistrica

Municipality_of_Slovenia|nativename=Slovenska Bistrica
coat=
location=
area=334.5 km²
population=29,285
males=14,399
females=14,886
avg_age=39.78 years
residental_density=28.04 m²/person
households=9,754
families=8,344
workers=14,398
unemployed=2,420
salary_date=August 2003
avg_salary_bruto=225,294 SIT
avg_salary_neto=144,901 SIT
students=1,005

Slovenska Bistrica ( _de. Windisch-Feistritz) is a town and a municipality south of Maribor, Slovenia. It was established in the 13th century on a trade road between Maribor and Celje. The early settlement had only one church and a small number of inhabitants, but nonetheless gained the rights of a market town in 1313. The town was originally called Bistrica. The present name of Slovenska Bistrica (German: "Windisch-Feistritz") appeared in records dating from 1565.

Today Slovenska Bistrica is a town of about 6,000 inhabitants with an increasing population that often commutes to Ljubljana for work because the two towns are a bit less than an hour's drive from one another. The city offers several interesting sights, including a castle, two churches, a Roman road, Ančnik fort (from Roman times), and more. It is also a good jumping-off point for people wishing to hike on Mount Boč, a nearby mountain peak and park.

As a municipality it unites several small towns and villages, including:

* Laporje
* Makole
* Poljčane
* Pragersko
* Spodnja Polskava
* Zgornja Polskava

Prominent persons from the municipality of Slovenska Bistrica include the politician and intellectual Jože Pučnik and the writer Anton Ingolič.