Lüleburgaz (;

Modern Greek Modern Greek (, or , ), generally referred to by speakers simply as Greek (, ), refers collectively to the dialects of the Greek language spoken in the modern era, including the official standardized form of the language sometimes referred to ...

: Λουλέ Μπουργκάς ''Lule Burgas''; Bulgarian: Люлебургаз ''Lyuleburgaz''), Bergoule (

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

: Βεργούλη) or Arcadiopolis (Ancient Greek: Ἀρκαδιούπολις ''Arkadiópolis'') is the largest city of

Kırklareli Province Kırklareli Province () is a Provinces of Turkey, province in northwestern Turkey on the west coast of the Black Sea. The province neighbours Bulgaria to the north along a long border. It borders the province of Edirne to the west and the provinc ...

in the Marmara region of

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 ...

. It is the seat of Lüleburgaz District.İlçe Belediyesi
Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 1 March 2023. Its population is 125,404 (2022). Located near the

border Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...

with Bulgaria and Greece within the historic region of

East Thrace East Thrace or Eastern Thrace, also known as Turkish Thrace or European Turkey, is the part of Turkey that is geographically in Southeast Europe. Turkish Thrace accounts for 3.03% of Turkey's land area and 15% of its population. The largest c ...

Rumelia Rumelia (; ; ) was a historical region in Southeastern Europe that was administered by the Ottoman Empire, roughly corresponding to the Balkans. In its wider sense, it was used to refer to all Ottoman possessions and Vassal state, vassals in E ...

, the city is home to many

Balkan Turks The Balkan Turks or Rumelian Turks () are the Turkish people who have been living in the Balkans since Ottoman Empire, Ottoman rule, as well as their descendants who still live in the region today. The Turks are officially recognized as a minority ...

from Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania and ex-Yugoslavia who immigrated to Turkey since the 19th century. Lüleburgaz is a hub for road and rail transportation, with the city being connected to Istanbul and Edirne by the Istanbul-Kapıkule Regional Train and to Plovdiv, Sofia, Belgrade, Bucharest and Budapest by the Bosphorus Express and the Istanbul-Sofia Express. Its best known attraction is the 16th-century Sokollu Mehmed Pasha Mosque, named after the

Grand Vizier Grand vizier (; ; ) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. It was first held by officials in the later Abbasid Caliphate. It was then held in the Ottoman Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Soko ...

Mehmet Paşa Sokolović and designed by the Ottoman chief

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Mimar Sinan Mimar Sinan (; , ; – 17 July 1588) also known as Koca Mi'mâr Sinân Âğâ, ("Sinan Agha (title), Agha the Grand Architect" or "Grand Sinan") was the chief Ottoman Empire, Ottoman architect, engineer and mathematician for sultans Suleiman ...

who also designed a bridge for the city.

History

The city used to be the capital of the

Roman province The Roman provinces (, pl. ) were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was ruled by a Roman appointed as Roman g ...

of Europa, established by the Roman Emperor

Diocletian Diocletian ( ; ; ; 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed Jovius, was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Diocles to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia. As with other Illyri ...

in 294. The city's ancient name was Bergula but Emperor

Theodosius I Theodosius I ( ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also known as Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. He won two civil wars and was instrumental in establishing the Nicene Creed as the orthodox doctrine for Nicene C ...

changed it to Arcadiopolis in honour of his son and successor

Arcadius Arcadius ( ; 377 – 1 May 408) was Roman emperor from 383 to his death in 408. He was the eldest son of the ''Augustus'' Theodosius I () and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla, and the brother of Honorius (). Arcadius ruled the eastern half of ...

. The city of Arcadiopolis fell to

Attila the Hun Attila ( or ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in early 453. He was also the leader of an empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Gepids, among others, in Central and East ...

during his campaign against the Eastern Roman Empire in 443 AD. In 823,

Thomas the Slav Thomas the Slav (, – October 823) was a 9th-century Byzantine military commander, most notable for leading a wide-scale revolt in 821–23 against Emperor Michael II the Amorian (). An army officer of Slavic origin from the Pontus reg ...

was besieged in Arcadiopolis as his revolt against

Michael II Michael II (, ; 770 – 2 October 829), called the Amorian (, ) and the Stammerer (, or , ), reigned as Byzantine emperor from 25 December 820 to his death on 2 October 829, the first ruler of the Amorian dynasty. Born in Amorium, Michael was ...

fell apart. After more than five months of confinement, Thomas's exhausted and starving troops gave up their leader in exchange for an imperial pardon. Thomas was led out of the city gates on a donkey and handed over to Michael for torture and execution. The Battle of Arcadiopolis of 970 saw the Byzantine forces defeat an invading Kievan- Pecheneg- Magyar force who were aiming to capture

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

, to the east. As the capital of the

of Europa, Acradiopolis had its own bishop, who was recorded as attending a number of important church councils; it was noted as an

autocephalous Autocephaly (; ) is the status of a hierarchical Christian church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop. The term is primarily used in Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches. The status has been compared with t ...

archbishopric by the seventh century. It is no longer a residential bishopric, although the Diocese of Arcadiopolis survives as a Roman Catholic

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbi ...

Marcel Lefebvre Marcel François Marie Joseph Lefebvre (29 November 1905 – 25 March 1991) was a Catholic Church in France, French Catholic prelate who served as Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dakar, Archbishop of Dakar from 1955 to 1962. He was a major inf ...

, the founder of the

Society of Saint Pius X The Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX; ("Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X"), FSSPX) is a canonically irregular traditionalist Catholic priestly fraternity founded in 1970 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. Lefebvre was a leading traditionalis ...

, was one of its

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

s. Lüleburgaz came under Ottoman control during the early period of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

's enlargement to Balkans. The Battle of Lüleburgaz was fought between 28 October and 2 November 1912 during the

First Balkan War The First Balkan War lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and involved actions of the Balkan League (the Kingdoms of Kingdom of Bulgaria, Bulgaria, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Greece, Greece and Kingdom of Montenegro, Montenegro) agai ...

. The city was occupied by the Greek army between 1920 and 1922, before becoming part of the Modern Turkish Republic.

Climate

Lüleburgaz has a transitional

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 ...

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''Csa''/''Cfa''), with hot, moderately dry summers, and chilly, rainy, occasionally snowy winters.

Economy

The economy of Lüleburgaz is mainly based on the industrial sector and agriculture. There are various factories around the city.

Pharmaceutical industry

Pharmaceutical companies such as

Sanofi-Aventis Sanofi S.A. is a French multinational pharmaceutical and healthcare company headquartered in Paris, France. The corporation was established in 1973 and merged with Synthélabo in 1999 to form Sanofi-Synthélabo. In 2004, Sanofi-Synthélabo merg ...

, Deva Holding A.S. and Zentiva have their main manufacturers within the urban area of Lüleburgaz.

Agriculture

Crops widely grown around Lüleburgaz include wheat, corn and sunflowers, with the latter being one of the symbols of the city. Trakya Birlik, with its headquarters in the city, is one of Turkey's main

sunflower oil Sunflower oil is the non-volatile oil pressed from the seeds of the sunflower (''Helianthus annuus''). Sunflower oil is commonly used in food as a frying oil, and in cosmetic formulations as an emollient. Sunflower oil is primarily compos ...

producers.

Glass production

Şişecam Şişecam (official name: Türkiye Şişe ve Cam Fabrikaları) is a Turkish glass manufacturing company. In the 2020 fiscal year, the company operated 43 plants in 14 countries. In terms of production capacity, Şişecam is the largest flat glass ...

, Turkey's leading glass producer, has a factory in Lüleburgaz, as does its East Thracian division Trakya Cam (''

Thrace Thrace (, ; ; ; ) is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe roughly corresponding to the province of Thrace in the Roman Empire. Bounded by the Balkan Mountains to the north, the Aegean Sea to the south, and the Black Se ...

Glass'').

Sport

Founded in 2007, the women's football club, Düvenciler Lisesispor, played in the Turkish Women's First Football League after promotion from the Second League. In 2011 the team changed its name to Lüleburgaz 39 Spor and its colours from yellow-black to red-green. The club ended its participation in the league in the 2013-14 season.

Culture

The city and the Battle of Lüleburgas feature in

Marcel Proust Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust ( ; ; 10 July 1871 – 18 November 1922) was a French novelist, literary critic, and essayist who wrote the novel (in French – translated in English as ''Remembrance of Things Past'' and more r ...

's '' Time Regained'', the final chapter of '' Remembrance of Things Past'', published in 1927. The festival of

koliada Koliada or koleda (Cyrillic: коляда, коледа, колада, коледе) is the traditional Slavic name for the period from Christmas to Epiphany or, more generally, for Slavic Christmas-related rituals, some dating to pre-Ch ...

is historically celebrated in the city in the month of January.

Media companies

The city of Lüleburgaz is home to several local media agencies including the centre-left Lüleburgaz Görünüm Gazetesi and Lüleburgaz Haber.

Politics

Lüleburgaz is one of the most pro-European cities of Turkey; mayoral candidates advocating tighter integration with the European Union dominate during elections. Historically, the centre-left, secular and pro-European

Republican People's Party The Republican People's Party (RPP; , CHP ) is a Kemalism, Kemalist and Social democracy, social democratic political party in Turkey. It is the oldest List of political parties in Turkey, political party in Turkey, founded by Mustafa Kemal ...

(CHP) has dominated city politics. In the 2017 Turkish constitutional referendum, 72.89% of the population of Lüleburgaz voted "no". In the

2018 Turkish general election General elections were held in Turkey on 24 June 2018. Presidential elections were held to elect the President of Turkey using a two-round system. Parliamentary elections took place to elect 600 Members of Parliament to the Grand National Asse ...

the most popular party was the CHP which received 51.38% of the vote. The

liberal democratic Liberal democracy, also called Western-style democracy, or substantive democracy, is a form of government that combines the organization of a democracy with ideas of liberal political philosophy. Common elements within a liberal democracy are: ...

Nation Alliance received 64.80% of the votes in the city. In the 2019 Turkish local elections the most popular candidate was Murat Gerenli of the CHP which received 66.55% of the vote.

Famous residents

* Ahmet Özacar, Turkish footballer * Candan Erçetin, Turkish singer-songwriter of Kosovar-Macedonian descent that represented Turkey in the

Eurovision Song Contest 1986 The Eurovision Song Contest 1986 was the 31st edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It was held in Bergen, Norway, following the country's victory at the with the song "La det swinge" by Bobbysocks! Organised by the European Broadcasting Unio ...

, recipient of the ''

Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The Order of Arts and Letters () is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is the recognition of significant ...

'' for her contributions to France–Turkey relations

Twin towns – sister cities

Lüleburgaz is twinned with: *

Silistra Silistra ( ; ; or ) is a town in Northeastern Bulgaria. The town lies on the southern bank of the lower Danube river, and is also the part of the Romanian border where it stops following the Danube. Silistra is the administrative center of the ...

* Popovo

References

Bibliography

Bergulae

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography'' is the last in a series of classical dictionaries edited by the English scholar William Smith (1813–1893), following '' A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities'' and the '' Dictionary of G ...

Arcadiopolis
founded by

External links

Official Website of the City of Lüleburgaz
{{DEFAULTSORT:Luleburgaz Populated places in Lüleburgaz District District municipalities in Turkey