Kırıkkale is the capital of the province of the same name in Turkey . It is located in northern central Anatolia, about 80 km east of Ankara . The city, which is located on important road and rail connections, experienced dynamic development in the 20th century towards becoming an important industrial center (including armaments , chemistry and wood processing). Kırıkkale has also been a university town since 1992.
The Turkish place name means broken castle when translated into German , but the true etymology of the name is said to be different. According to one opinion, it is said to have originated from a contraction of the name of the village Kırıkköy, 3 km north, and the hill Kaletepe in today's city center. In the Ottoman archives, the name spelling is Kırıkkal'a .
Kırıkkale is also a district that was founded in 1989. It extends in the center of the province of the same name and is framed by the districts of Balışeyh in the north, Keskin in the east, Bahşılı in the south-west and Yahşihan in the north-west. In addition to the district town ( Merkez ) there is another municipality: ( Belediye ) Hacılar with 3,624 inhabitants. There are also nine villages, two of which have over 1,000 inhabitants: Ahılı (1,606) and Hasandede (1,101).
The following table shows the comparative population level at the end of the year for the province, the central district and the city of Kırıkkale as well as the respective share at the higher administrative level. The figures are based on the address-based population register (ADNKS) introduced in 2007.