Kars

This article covers the Turkish city of Kars ; for further meanings, see Kars (disambiguation) .

Kars
Kars, September 2006
Basic data
Province (il) :	Kars
Coordinates :	40 ° 36 '  N , 43 ° 6'  E Coordinates: 40 ° 36 '25 "  N , 43 ° 5' 35"  E
Height :	1768  m
Residents :	88,183 (2019)
Telephone code :	(+90) 474
Postal code :	36,000
License plate :	36
Structure and administration (as of 2019)
Structure :	23 Mahalle
Mayor :	Ayhan Bilgen ( HDP )
Postal address :	Yusufpaşa Mah. Karadağ Cad. No: 19 Merkez 99 000 Kars
Website:	www.kars.bel.tr
Kars County
Residents :	116,712 (2019)
Surface:	2,048 km²
Population density :	57 inhabitants per km²

View over Kars

Kars ( Armenian Ղարս = Ghars or Կարս Gars , Azerbaijani Qars , Kurdish Qers ) is the administrative center of the province of Kars in Turkey . At the same time, it is also the center of the surrounding central district ( Merkez ). The garrison town with 86,349 inhabitants is located in northeastern Anatolia , about 45 km west of the border with Armenia and 65 km south of the Turkish- Georgian border, at an altitude of 1768 m. Historically the city is not to be confused with the also short- Kars mentioned Kars-ı Zulkadriye or Kars-ı Mar'aş , today Kadirli , the same one in the Ottoman period center sancaks was.

geography

district

The central district ( Merkez ) Kars borders in the north on the districts Susuz and Arpaçay , in the northeast on the Akyaka district , in the southeast on the Digor district , in the south on the Kağızman district and in the west on the Selim district . In addition, there is an approximately 25 km long border with Armenia in the east. The distance to the Armenian city of Gyumri (until 1991 Leninakan) is approx. 65 km.

In addition to the district town, the district consists of 72 villages ( Köy ) with an average of 410 inhabitants. Four villages have more than a thousand inhabitants: Halefoğlu (2,529), Ölçülü (1,639), Kümbetli (1,500) and Çerme (1,121 inhabitants). The population density of 57 inhabitants per square kilometer is twice the provincial average.

population

Population development

The following table shows the comparative population level at the end of the year for the province, the central district and the city of Kars 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.

year	province	district		city
	real	%	real	%	real
2018	288,878	40.12	115.891	74.51	86,349
2017	287,654	39.87	114,694	74.31	85.225
2016	289,786	39.19	113,559	73.07	82,975
2015	292,660	38.36	112,260	72.81	81,742
2014	296,466	37.53	111.278	71.25	79,289
2013	300,874	36.80	110,736	70.14	77,674
2012	304,821	36.61	111,597	69.98	78,100
2011	305,755	36.31	111.008	69.30	76,928
2010	301,766	35.81	108.064	68.32	73,826
2009	306,536	36.38	111,511	68.81	76,729
2008	312.128	35.33	110.283	68.27	75.291
2007	312.205	35.38	110,443	69.71	76,992

Census results

The following population information about the city, the district, the province and the country is available for the censuses:

region	1965	1970	1975!	1980	1985	1990	2000
City (Şehir)	41,376	53,338	54,892	58,799	69,293	78,455	78,473
central circle (Merkez)	78,644	91,927	97.225	102.286	113,660	120,351	114.071
Province (İl)	606.313	660.018	707.398	700.238	722.431	662.155	325.016
Turkey	31,391,421	35.605.176	40,347,719	44,736,957	50,664,458	56.473.035	67,803,927

history

Before Ani , Kars was the capital of an Armenian kingdom ruled by the Bagratids from 933 to 957 . In the 11th century Kars was conquered and destroyed by Alp Arslan (King of the Seljuk Turks), in the 13th century by the Mongols and in 1387 by Timur .

After Kars and the surrounding region became part of the Ottoman Empire in 1514 , the Kars Citadel, built in 1152, was strong enough in later centuries to withstand the siege by Persian troops under the Turkmen Nadir Shah in 1731 and Russian troops in 1807 .

Kars between Russians and Ottomans

View of Kars (1856)

In the Russo-Turkish War of 1828/1829, the Ottoman troops suffered a heavy defeat at Kars. On June 23, 1828, the city surrendered to the Russian Field Marshal Ivan Paskewitsch , 11,000 men were taken prisoner of war .

During the Crimean War , the British Colonel William Fenwick Williams commanded the Turkish troops in the Kars fortress. The Russian general Muravyov reached the fortress in 1855 with 40,000 men . The 30,000 defenders under Williams were able to repel the attack by the Russians. Therefore, from the beginning of June to the end of November 1855, Muravyov conducted the siege of the Kars fortress . After an unsuccessful attempt at relief by Omar Pascha , cholera and food shortages forced the garrison town to surrender on November 29, 1855 . This success allowed Russia to moderate peace negotiations despite losing Sevastopol .

In the Russo-Turkish War of 1877/78 the fortress was stormed again during the Battle of Kars and finally ceded to Russia with the Peace of San Stefano . Between 1878 and 1881, 82,000 Muslims then left the city and emigrated to the Ottoman Empire. At the same time, many Armenians, Greeks and Russians emigrated from Turkey and the Caucasus to the region around Kars. According to the Russian census of 1892, the Russians made up 7%, Greeks 13.5%, Kurds 15%, Armenians 21.5%, Turks 24%, Karapapaks 14% and Turkmens 5% of the population of Kars Oblast .

World War I and Republic of Turkey

Russia in turn lost Kars (together with Ardahan and Batumi ) through the peace of Brest-Litovsk on March 3, 1918. On April 25, 1918, Kars was reoccupied by Turks and the " Southwest Caucasian Republic " was proclaimed in the region . However, after the Mudros armistice , the Ottoman army withdrew behind the 1914 borders in October 1918. British forces occupied Batumi while the Ottomans refused to give up Kars. A provisional government under the leadership of Fahrettin Pirioğlu was established, which proclaimed Ottoman rule over Kars and the Turkish-speaking and Islamic neighboring regions of Batumi and Alexandropol . The area was occupied by Armenia in January 1919, but the pro-Turkish government found support until the arrival of British troops, which disbanded them on April 19, 1919 and deported their leadership to Malta . Kars and its surroundings were ceded to Armenia in May 1919, Ardahan, Çıldır and Posof to Georgia. The areas were returned to Turkey with the Treaty of Alexandropol on December 2, 1920 after the Turkish-Armenian War (September - December 1920), which caused great losses among the Muslim and Christian civilian populations in and around Kars .

As a result of the Turkish War of Liberation , the Ottoman Empire gave up all claims to Batumi with the Treaty of Kars on October 23, 1921 and received Kars, Artvin and Ardahan in return.

Attractions

As a city at the intersection of Armenian, Georgian, Greek , Russian and Turkish cultures, it combines a variety of architectural styles . Above all, the Russian architecture from the end of the 19th century, when Kars was an important garrison town, characterizes the city.

Kars Kalesi , first built by the Saltukids in 1152 , destroyed by Timur in 1386 and under Sultan Murad III in 1579 . Citadel of Kars, rebuilt by Grand Vizier Lala Mustafa Pascha , rises on a plateau above the city. The current structures date from 1855.

At the foot of the plateau is the former Armenian cathedral of Kars , the "Church of the Apostles", in Armenian Surb Arak'eloc , built between 932 and 937 by the Bagratid king Abas I , today a mosque.

The Monument of Humanity was under construction , a 35-meter-high monument intended to commemorate friendship with Armenia. It was designed by the Turkish sculptor Mehmet Aksoy . Because the location of the monument is controversial for historical reasons, the construction work was interrupted and in 2011 Prime Minister Erdoğan demanded the demolition. The demolition of the monument began on April 18, 2011. After a protest rally against the demolition, the painter Bedri Baykam and his assistant Tuğba Kurtulmuş were stabbed and seriously injured.

About 40 kilometers east of Kars is in the Ani province of the same name , a now uninhabited former capital of the Armenians, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2016 . Ani Cathedral is in Ani .

education

The Kafkas Üniversitesi (German: Caucasus University) is located in Kars . It was founded on July 11, 1992 and has six faculties, three institutes, four technical colleges and several research and application centers. The university campus is 3.5 km southwest of Kars.

traffic

railroad

Kars is on the Ankara – Achurian railway line ( Armenia ). In 1990, however, Kars became the eastern terminus, as the section to Gyumri is no longer used as a result of the border closure between Turkey and Armenia in the context of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict . Kars is also the starting point for the new line to Tbilisi , which will bypass Armenia. It opened in 2017.

→ Main article : Kars – Akhalkalaki – Tbilisi – Baku railway line

There is a daily train between Kars and Ankara, as well as Kars and Istanbul (via Ankara).

Street

Kars is connected to Erzurum by a motorway (D 965, that is the European route 691 ).

Air traffic

Kars has an airport with daily connections to Ankara and Istanbul.

Climate table

Kars (1795 m)
Climate diagram
J F. M. A. M. J J A. S. O N D.     20th   -4 -15     22nd   -2 -14     31   4th -7     54   12 0     77   17th 4th     72   22nd 7th     61   26th 10     45   27 10     27   23 6th     45   15th 1     29   7th -5     23   -1 -11 Temperature in ° C ,  precipitation in mm Source: State Meteorological Office of the Turkish Republic, normal period 1981-2010

Average monthly temperatures and rainfall for Kars (1795 m) Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Max. Temperature ( ° C ) -4.0 -2.1 3.6 11.7 16.6 21.5 25.8 26.5 22.5 15.3 6.7 -0.6 O 12 Min. Temperature (° C) -15.3 -13.9 -7.3 -0.2 3.8 7.0 10.2 10.1 5.6 1.0 -4.9 -11.2 O −1.2 Temperature (° C) -9.9 -8.1 -2.0 5.5 10.1 14.2 17.7 17.8 13.6 7.6 0.2 -6.3 O 5.1 Precipitation ( mm ) 20.3 22.4 31.2 54.2 76.6 72.4 60.7 44.7 27.4 45.1 28.9 22.6 Σ 506.5 Hours of sunshine ( h / d ) 3.2 4.0 5.0 5.9 7.3 9.1 10.3 10.1 8.3 6.2 4.4 3.1 O 6.4 Rainy days ( d ) 9.5 10.0 11.7 14.0 18.4 14.6 11.1 9.4 6.6 10.2 9.0 10.2 Σ 134.7 Source: State Meteorological Office of the Turkish Republic, normal period 1981-2010

photos

• 

  Former Armenian Cathedral of Kars

• 

  Russian architecture

Town twinning

• Bursa
• Edirne
• Gəncə , Azerbaijan
• Kirkenes , Norway
• Kutaisi , Georgia
• Stavropol , Russia
• Wesel

Personalities

• Alex-Ceslas Rzewuski (1893–1983), Polish-French aristocrat, Dominican and artist
• Arab Shamilov (1897–1978), Kurdish writer
• Jeghische Charenz (1897–1937), Armenian poet
• Hripsime Simonjan (1916–1998), Armenian sculptor and professor
• Şenkal Atasagun (* 1942), agent, director of the domestic intelligence service (1998-2005)
• Nihat Behram (* 1946), journalist, film producer, poet and novelist
• Öner Kılıç (* 1954), football player and coach
• Ahmet Lokurlu (* 1962), researcher and industrial engineer
• Peker Açıkalın (born 1963), actor
• Telat Yurtsever (* 1964), German-Turkish theater director
• İlhan Cihaner (* 1968), Member of Parliament and former Chief Public Prosecutor
• Tuncay Gary (* 1971), actor and poet
• Kubilay Toptaş (* 1972), football player
• Alpaslan Agüzüm (* 1977), German boxer
• Göktürk Taşdemir (* 1980), ice hockey player
• Gülsüm Tatar (* 1985), world champion in boxing
• Tuğrulhan Erdemir (* 1999), boxer

Others

• The city of Kars gained fame as the setting for the novel “ Snow ” by the Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk , who received the 2006 Nobel Prize for Literature .
• In 1880 Modest Mussorgsky composed a triumphal march for the capture of Kars , which was to be performed for the 25th anniversary of the throne of Alexander II. He largely used parts of his unfinished opera Mlada , only an Alla Turca trio was supposed to give the work local color.
• Construction of the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) began on March 17, 2015 near Kars.

Web links

Commons : Kars  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• City guide Kars on the university website

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Türkiye Nüfusu İl ilçe Mahalle Köy Nüfusları , accessed on April 13, 2020
2. ↑ Central Dissemination System / Merkezi Dağıtım Sistemi (MEDAS) of the TÜIK , accessed on June 28, 2019
3. ↑ Genel Nüfus Sayımları (census results 1965 to 2000) , accessed June 28, 2019
4. ↑ Kars Oblast . In: Энциклопедический словарь Брокгауза и Ефрона - Enziklopeditscheski slowar Brokgausa i Jefrona . tape 14 a [28]: Карданахи – Керо. Brockhaus-Efron, Saint Petersburg 1895, p. 599–603 (Russian, full text [ Wikisource ] PDF ).
5. ^ Christopher Torchia: Debate in Turkey over Armenia friendship monument. on: turkaget.wordpress.com , January 10, 2011.
6. ^ Jürgen Gottschlich : Dispute over the Armenian-Turkish monument: Erdogan in the provincial posse. on: taz.de , January 27, 2011.
7. ↑ taz.de of April 19, 2011
8. ↑ Genel Bilgiler. Kafka's Universitesi. ( Memento from August 29, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) (University website, Turkish, also available in English)
9. ^ Neil Robinson: World Rail Atlas . Vol. 8: The Middle East and Caucasus . 2006. ISBN 954-12-0128-8 , p. 52.
10. ↑ serhattv.com.tr
11. ^ Hans Christoph Worbs: Mussorgsky . RoRoRo picture monographs, Reinbek 1976, p. 122.