Zonguldak () is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

and the capital of Zonguldak Province in the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

region of

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

. It was established in 1849 as a port town for the nearby coal mines in Ereğli and the coal trade remains its main economic activity. According to the 2009 census, Zonguldak has a population of 108,792. The current mayor is Ömer Selim Alan, representing the AKP.

Etymology

There are several different theories concerning the origin of the city's name: * That it comes from ''Zone Geul-Dagh'', the name given to the area by

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and Belgian mining companies from French "zone" and a French spelling of Turkish Göldağı ('Lake Mountain'), the highest mountain in the vicinity of the Devrek district. * That the name came from Turkish which means "swamp", or . * That the name may derive from the name of the nearby ancient settlement of Sandaraca or Sandarake (in

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

Σανδαράκη). * That the name may have come from "jungle" (which the French entrepreneurs called the area due to its uneven wooded geography) plus Turkish 'mountain'. In a 1920 report, the British Foreign Office spelled Zonguldak ''Zunguldak''.

History

The port city of Zonguldak suffered a heavy bombardment by the Russians during World War I, according to the caption of a Lubok popular print. As of 1920, the port was under the control of the Heraclea Coal Company. The northern part of the bay featured a man-made harbor, for

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamship ...

use. At that time, they had two

cranes Crane or cranes may refer to: Common meanings * Crane (bird), a large, long-necked bird * Crane (machine), industrial machinery for lifting ** Crane (rail), a crane suited for use on railroads People and fictional characters * Crane (surname ...

which distributed

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when ...

to exporting vessels.

Climate

According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

, for a long time Zonguldak was considered to have an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...

(''Cfb''), with its warmest month being well below the 22 °C threshold, yet in recent decades

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

and

global warming In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

has been contributing to its classification in slowly turning

humid subtropical A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

(''Cfa'') and therefore the city center on the immediate coastline is currently classified as borderline oceanic-humid subtropical. If this trend continues, coastal Zonguldak will soon be classified as purely humid subtropical. Summers are warm, the average temperature is around 22.5 °C in July and August. Winters are cool, the average temperature is around 6 °C in January and February. Precipitation is frequent, while it is generally heaviest in autumn and early winter, lightest (although still frequent) in spring. The water temperature is cool to mild and fluctuates between 8° C and 20 °C throughout the year.

Health

Because of coal there is a lot of lung disease.

Economy

Jobs in coal in Turkey are being lost and in 2020 the EBRD proposed a

just transition Just transition is a framework developed by the trade union movement to encompass a range of social interventions needed to secure workers' rights and livelihoods when economies are shifting to sustainable production, primarily combating climat ...

Transportation

The city is the terminus of a railway line to

Irmak Irmak is a Unisex Turkish given name. In Turkish, "Irmak" means "river". People Given name * Irmak Arkadaşlar, a Turkish contestant in the north team of Survivor: Büyük Macera. * Irmak Atuk, a Turkish model and titleholder of Best Model of ...

, with the terminating station Zonguldak Railway Station built in 1937.

International relations

Twin towns — sister cities

Zonguldak is twinned with: *

Brindisi Brindisi ( , ) ; la, Brundisium; grc, Βρεντέσιον, translit=Brentésion; cms, Brunda), group=pron is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Histo ...

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Kherson Oblast Kherson Oblast ( uk, Херсо́нська о́бласть, translit=Khersónsʹka óblastʹ, ), also known as Khersonshchyna ( uk, Херсо́нщина, ), is an oblast (province) in southern Ukraine, currently claimed and partly occupied ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...

Monfalcone Monfalcone (; Bisiacco: ; fur, Monfalcon; sl, Tržič; archaic german: Falkenberg) is a town and ''comune'' of the province of Gorizia in Friuli Venezia Giulia, northern Italy, located on the Gulf of Trieste. Monfalcone means 'falcon mountain ...

Friuli Venezia Giulia (man), it, Friulana (woman), it, Giuliano (man), it, Giuliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_t ...

Notable people

Ergün Penbe Ergün Penbe (born 17 May 1972), known by his nickname Kemik –literally meaning ''the Bone''–, is a Turkish former professional footballer who played mostly as a left midfielder and left back, and is currently the manager of Tarsus İdman Yu ...

- Turkish former footballer Murat Boz - Turkish singer-songwriter and actor Nilgün Efes - Turkish entrepreneur and journalist