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Balıkesir () is a city in the Marmara region of Turkey. It is the seat of
Balıkesir Province Balıkesir Province () is a Provinces of Turkey, province and Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality in northwestern Turkey with coastlines on both the Sea of Marmara and the Aegean Sea, Aegean. Its area is 14,583 km ...
, which is also a
metropolitan municipality A metropolitan municipality is a municipality established to serve a metropolitan area. Canada In generic terms and in practical application within Canada, a metropolitan municipality is an urban local government with partial or complete consol ...
. As of 2022, the population of Balıkesir Province is 1,257,590, of which 314,958 in the city proper (the urban part of the districts Altıeylül and Karesi). Between 1341 and 1922, it was the capital of Karasi.


History

Close to modern Balıkesir was the Roman town of '' Hadrianutherae'', founded, as its name commemorates, by the emperor
Hadrian Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...
. Hadrian came to the region in 124 A.D., as a result of a successful bear hunting he had established a city called his name here. It is estimated that the city consisted of the castle, the homestead, the stud and a few homes. It is thought that the small town was where the current stadium is present. Members of the Roman and Pre-Byzantine dynasty had used this castle as a vacation area and for hunting. During the
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...
period, the small town which had become increasingly neglected was known as ''Palaiokastron'' () meaning Old Castle. Also, when the Turkomans came from Middle Asia to Mysia, they called it Balukiser because of the remains of the castle, as ''Hisar'' is the Turkish word for castle. Balıkesir's former name was Karasi because Balıkesir city was founded by Karasi Bey in the 13th century as using the remains of the small town. 1297 is considered as the date of establishment of the city which was one of the few to be founded by the Turks in
Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...
. The
Karasids The Karasids or Karasid dynasty (; ), also known as the Principality of Karasi and Beylik of Karasi (''Karasi Beyliği'' or ''Karesi Beyliği'' ), was a Turkish Anatolian beylik (principality) in the area of classical Mysia (modern Balıkesir and ...
was a Turkic principality in
Mysia Mysia (UK , US or ; ; ; ) was a region in the northwest of ancient Asia Minor (Anatolia, Asian part of modern Turkey). It was located on the south coast of the Sea of Marmara. It was bounded by Bithynia on the east, Phrygia on the southeast, Lyd ...
. Since the 13th century, Balıkesir city have been the administrative centre of the Mysia region. In 1345, Balıkesir city was annexed by the Ottomans. In 1898 an earthquake destroyed much of the city. The number of buildings that were not destroyed in the 1898 earthquake was only 51. In 1914, Turkish students marched through the streets of the city singing a song of hatred against the Greeks. In April 1916, the Christian Greeks of the villages in the vicinity of Balikesser underwent persecution from the Turks. They were refused bread on payment. The women were told that they should become Muslim so as not to die of hunger. At the beginning of June, many young Greeks were forced by the authorities to convert to Islam at Government headquarters. On 30 June 1919 Balıkesir city was occupied by the invading
Greeks Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...
but on 6 September 1922, the
Turkish Army The Turkish Land Forces () is the main branch of the Turkish Armed Forces responsible for Army, land-based military operations. The army was formed on November 8, 1920, after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Significant campaigns since the ...
took back the city. During the
Turkish War of Independence , strength1 = May 1919: 35,000November 1920: 86,000Turkish General Staff, ''Türk İstiklal Harbinde Batı Cephesi'', Edition II, Part 2, Ankara 1999, p. 225August 1922: 271,000Celâl Erikan, Rıdvan Akın: ''Kurtuluş Savaşı tarih ...
, Balıkesir was the main centre of the Turkish militias in Western Anatolia against the occupying Greek Army. On 3 August 1950, a major fire destroyed the centre of the city which was rebuilt later. That fire destroyed an important part of the city. According to estimates, it was the result of the firing of firecrackers belonging to child guns in a shop. According to another opinion, it was caused by the gnawing of the firecrackers of child guns by rats and this fire spread to the electrical contact. 498 shops completely burned. It is the second biggest disaster to befall in Balıkesir after the 1898 earthquake. Nearly a thousand people were unemployed. The tents were set up by the Turkish Red Crescent and food aid was provided for a long time.


Main sights

*'' Zaganos Pasha Mosque'' built by and named after the Grand Vizier of Mehmet the Conqueror, Zaganos Pasha in 1461. Only the mosque and baths remain. *'' Yildirim Mosque'' built in 1388 is the oldest remaining work from the Ottoman period in Balikesir city.


Sports

Most known sports club in Balıkesir is Balıkesirspor which is established in 1966. Balıkesirspor is the
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
team played in the
Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...
after achieving promotion having finished as runners-up of the
TFF First League The TFF 1. Lig (), currently referred to as Trendyol 1. Lig for sponsorship reasons, is the second level of the Turkish football league system. The league was founded in 2001 as the ''Turkish Second League Category A'' after the reorganization ...
in 2013–14. The team's previous promotion was 40 years before that. Their stadium, the all-seater Balıkesir Atatürk Stadium, has a capacity of 13,732.


Climate

Balıkesir has a fairly continental
hot-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...
(Csa) under the
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
and a temperate oceanic climate (Do) under the Trewartha classification. Winters are cool and wet with frequent frosts and occasional snowfall, while summers are hot and dry. The continentality increases as one moves from west to east and north to south. Therefore, winters are colder and snowier in the inland parts.


Municipality

In the Official Gazette of the Republic of Turkey, under law 6360, published on 6 December 2012, Balıkesir Municipality qualified as a"Metropolitan".


International relations

Balıkesir is twinned with; *
Makhachkala Makhachkala, previously known as Petrovskoye (1844–1857) and Port-Petrovsk (1857–1921), or by the local Kumyk language, Kumyk name of Anji, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Dagestan, Russia. ...
,
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
*
Shymkent Shymkent (, ; ) is a city in southern Kazakhstan, located near the border with Uzbekistan. It holds the status of a city of republican significance, one of only three cities in Kazakhstan with this distinction, alongside Almaty and Astana. As of ...
,
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...
(since 1995) *
Kazan Kazan; , IPA: Help:IPA/Tatar, ɑzanis the largest city and capital city, capital of Tatarstan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka (river), Kazanka Rivers, covering an area of , with a population of over 1. ...
,
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
(since 1996) *
Roxas City Roxas (, ), officially the City of Roxas (Capiznon language, Capiznon/; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city and capital of the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Capiz, Philippines. According to the 2 ...
,
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
(since 1997) *
Prizren Prizren ( sq-definite, Prizreni, ; sr-cyr, Призрен) is the second List of cities and towns in Kosovo, most populous city and Municipalities of Kosovo, municipality of Kosovo and seat of the eponymous municipality and District of Prizren, ...
,
Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...
(since 1997) *
Å tip Å tip ( ) is the largest urban agglomeration in the eastern part of North Macedonia, serving as the economic, industrial, entertainment and educational focal point for the surrounding municipalities. As of the 2021 census, the city of Å tip had ...
,
North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...
(since 1999) *
Lefkada Lefkada (, ''Lefkáda'', ), also known as Lefkas or Leukas (Ancient Greek and Katharevousa: Λευκάς, ''Leukás'', modern pronunciation ''Lefkás'') and Leucadia, is a Greece, Greek list of islands of Greece, island in the Ionian Sea on the ...
,
Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
(since 2000) * Schwäbisch Hall, Germany (since 2006) * Siirt,
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
(since 2007) * Chungcheongnam-do,
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
(since 2010)Sister/Twin Cities of Balıkesir
/ref>


Notable natives

* Ahmet Nuri Öztekin, Military officer in the Ottoman and Turkish armies * Barış Falay, Actor * Bekir Sami Günsav, Military officer in the Ottoman and Turkish armies * Caner Erkin, Football player *
Cengiz Ünder Cengiz Ünder (; born 14 July 1997) is a Turkish professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for Süper Lig club Fenerbahçe S.K. (football), Fenerbahçe, and the Turkey national football t ...
, Football player * Cihat Arslan, Football player, coach * Çetin Zeybek, Football player * Egemen Korkmaz, Football player, coach * Erdal Tosun, Actor * Fikret Hakan, Actor * Hande Erçel, Actress and model * İlhan Eker, Football player * İlker Ayrık, Actor * Kazım Özalp, Military officer in the Ottoman and Turkish armies * Kurtdereli Mehmet Pehlivan, World-famous oil wrestler * Mehmet Çoban, Olympian Greco-Roman wrestler * Nazmi Solok, Military officer in the Ottoman and Turkish armies * Necdet Tosun, Actor * Nedim Günar, Football player, coach * Oğuz Savaş, Basketball player * Olcan Adın, Football player * Ömer Seyfettin, Writer * Seyit Onbaşı, Ottoman army gunner * Şafak Edge, Basketball player * Şevket Altuğ, Actor * Tamer Yiğit, Actor *
Tuğçe Kazaz Tuğçe Kazaz (born 26 August 1982) is a Turkish people, Turkish actress, model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Turkey 2001. Biography Kazaz was born in Edremit, Balıkesir, Edremit, Balıkesir Province. She was educated ...
, Actress and model * Tülin Altıntaş, Volleyball player *
Vasıf Çınar Hüseyin Vasıf Çınar (1895–1935) was a Turkish people, Turkish educator, politician, journalist and diplomat. Early years He was born on Crete. He was of Kurds in Turkey, Kurdish descend, and was the son of Abdullah Hulusi Bey, a son of Em ...
, Politician and diplomat * Vedat İnceefe, Football player, coach * Zağanos Pasha, Ottoman military commander * Zerrin Tekindor, Actress and artist


See also

* Altıeylül * Anatolian Tigers * Balıkesirspor * Karesi * Macarlar


Notes


External links


Balıkesir Municipality Web PageBalıkesir Government Web Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balikesir Populated places in Balıkesir Province