Bolu is a city in northern

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 ...

, and administrative center of the

Bolu Province Bolu Province () is a Provinces of Turkey, province in north-western Turkey, between the capital, Ankara, and the largest city in the country, Istanbul. Its area is 8,313 km,2, and its population is 320,824 (2022). The capital city of the pr ...

and of Bolu District,İl Belediyesi
Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 30 January 2023. located on the highway between

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

and

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

. Its population is 184,682 (2021). The city has been governed by mayor Tanju Özcan ( CHP) since local elections in 2019. It was the site of Ancient Claudiopolis and has also been called Eskihisar ("old fortress") (and as such has several Turkish namesakes). The old highway ( D-100) between

and

climbs over Mount Bolu, while the new motorway ( E-80) passes through Mount Bolu Tunnel, a little distance from the town. It is situated at above sea level on the southern slopes of a bare hill.

History

Antiquity until the Seljuk Turks

Bolu was part of one of the Hittite kingdoms around 2000 BC and later 500 BC became one of the leading cities of the Greek Kingdom of Bithynia (279 BC - 79 BC). Bebryces, Mariandynes, Koukones, Thyns and Paphlagons are native people of the area in antique era.

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

(XII, 4, 7) mentions a Hellenistic town, Bithynium (), celebrated for its pastures and cheese, which according to Pausanias (VIII, 9) was founded by Arcadians from Mantinea. In the

Ancient Roman In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

era, as is shown by its coins, the town was commonly called Claudiopolis (Κλαυδιούπολις) after Emperor Claudius. It was the birthplace of

Antinous Antinous, also called Antinoös, (; ; – ) was a Greek youth from Bithynia, a favourite and lover of the Roman emperor Hadrian. Following his premature death before his 20th birthday, Antinous was deified on Hadrian's orders, being worshippe ...

, the posthumously deified lover of the Roman 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 '' ...

, who was very generous to the city, and his name was later added to that of Claudius on the coins of the city. Emperor

Theodosius II Theodosius II ( ; 10 April 401 – 28 July 450), called "the Calligraphy, Calligrapher", was Roman emperor from 402 to 450. He was proclaimed ''Augustus (title), Augustus'' as an infant and ruled as the Eastern Empire's sole emperor after the ...

(408-50) made it the capital of a new province, formed out of Bithynia and

Paphlagonia Paphlagonia (; , modern translit. ''Paflagonía''; ) was an ancient region on the Black Sea coast of north-central Anatolia, situated between Bithynia to the west and Pontus (region), Pontus to the east, and separated from Phrygia (later, Galatia ...

, and called by him '' Honorias'' in honour of his younger son and successor Honorius. The city was known under Byzantine rule as Hadrianopolis (like many others; not to be confused with Hadrianopolis in Honoriade, also Constanti(n)a, now

Viranşehir Viranşehir () is a municipality and district of Şanlıurfa Province, Turkey. Its area is 2,297 km2, and its population is 207,315 (2022). It is a market town serving a cotton-growing area, 93 km east of the city Şanlıurfa and 53&nbs ...

). After the

Battle of Manzikert The Battle of Manzikert or Malazgirt was fought between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk Empire on 26 August 1071 near Manzikert, Iberia (theme), Iberia (modern Malazgirt in Muş Province, Turkey). The decisive defeat of the Byzantine army ...

in which 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 ...

s suffered a defeat at the hands of the Seljuks, Turkmens migrating west settled the city in the 11th century and it was referred to as Boli, Turkicized short for the Greek ''Polis'' 'city'. It was recaptured by

s in 1097 but was conquered by the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum in 1197. After the victory of Malazgirt in 1071, the Oghuz Turks spread to the west and settled in Bolu 3 years later. The Turkmens who settled in Bolu in 1074 easily integrated with the Bulgar, Pecheneg, Uz and Cuman Turks that the

Byzantine Empire 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 History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

's had brought from the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

long before and later. Bolu and its villages were completely Turkified and took the names of the Turkic tribes. The Turks who came from the Balkans became

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

, but they did not forget the Turkic language, customs and traditions. They became

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

in a short time.

The Ottoman era

In 1325, the town was conquered by 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 ...

under

Orhan Orhan Ghazi (; , also spelled Orkhan; died 1362) was the second sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1323/4 to 1362. He was born in Söğüt, as the son of Osman I. In the early stages of his reign, Orhan focused his energies on conquering mos ...

, becoming known under the present Turkish name - sometimes called ''Bolou'' or ''Boli''. It was also ruled by Candaroğlu between 1402 and 1423. It became the chief town of a sanjak in the

vilayet A vilayet (, "province"), also known by #Names, various other names, was a first-order administrative division of the later Ottoman Empire. It was introduced in the Vilayet Law of 21 January 1867, part of the Tanzimat reform movement initiated b ...

(province) of

Kastamonu Kastamonu, formerly Kastamone/Castamone () and Kastamon/Castamon (), is a city in northern Turkey. It is the seat of Kastamonu Province and Kastamonu District.

and had a population of 10,000 inhabitants. Bolu was an Ottoman eyalet (state) until the Charter of States (''Vilayetler Nizannamesi'') of 1864, and was within the area stretching from

Beykoz Beykoz () is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 310 km2, and its population is 247,875 (2022). It lies at the northern end of the Bosphorus on the Anatolian side. The name i ...

kaza A kaza (, "judgment" or "jurisdiction") was an administrative divisions of the Ottoman Empire, administrative division of the Ottoman Empire. It is also discussed in English under the names district, subdistrict, and juridical district. Kazas co ...

si of İzmid sanjak to Boyabat kazasi of Sinop sanjak. In the late 19th and early 20th century, following the 1864 ''Vilayetler Nizannamesi'', Bolu was part of the Kastamonu Vilayet of the Empire.

Ecclesiastical history

(Arch)Bishopric

As secular 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 Honorias, in the civil Diocese of Pontus, the bishopric of Claudiopolis became the

metropolitan see Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ...

, in the sway of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, with five

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led ...

sees : Heraclea Pontica, Prusias ad Hypium, Tium, Cratia and Hadrianopolis in Honoriade. It appears as such in the ''

Notitiae Episcopatuum The ''Notitiae Episcopatuum'' (singular: ''Notitia Episcopatuum'') were official documents that furnished for Eastern countries the list and hierarchical rank of the metropolitan and suffragan bishoprics of a church. In the Roman Church (the mos ...

'' of Pseudo-Epiphanius of about 640 and in that of

Byzantine Emperor The foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, which Fall of Constantinople, fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as legitimate rulers and exercised s ...

Leo VI the Wise Leo VI, also known as Leo the Wise (; 19 September 866 – 11 May 912), was Byzantine Emperor from 886 to 912. The second ruler of the Macedonian dynasty (although his parentage is unclear), he was very well read, leading to his epithet. During ...

of the early 10th century, ranking sixteenth viz. seventeenth among the Patriarchate's Metropolitans. The city, known as Hadrianopolis (like many others) under Byzantine rule fell to Turkmens migrating west in the 11th century who called it Boli, was recaptured by Byzantines in 1097, besieged unsuccessfully by the Sultanate of Rum in 1179 and conquered in 1197. Under Ottoman rule since the 14th century it lost to Heraclea Pontica the Metropolitan dignity. It ceased to exist as a residential bishopric in the 15th century. Michel

Lequien Michel Le Quien (8 October 1661, Boulogne-sur-Mer – 12 March 1733, Paris) was a French historian and theologian. Biography Le Quien studied at , Paris, and at twenty entered the Dominican convent in Faubourg Saint-Germain, where he made ...

mentions twenty bishops of the see to the 13th century; documentary mentions are available for the following incumbent (Arch)bishops : * the first is St. Autonomus, said to be an Italian missionary who suffered martyrdom under

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 ...

. * Callicrates (mentioned in 363 in Socrates Scolasticus' church history) * Gerontius (first actual historically documented bishop, in 394 attending the council against Metropolitan Bagadius of

Bosra Bosra (), formerly Bostra () and officially called Busra al-Sham (), is a town in southern Syria, administratively belonging to the Daraa District of the Daraa Governorate and geographically part of the Hauran region. Bosra is an ancient cit ...

. * Olympius (in 431) * Calogerus (449 - 458) * Carterius (menzionato nel 459) ** Hypatus (circa 518) ismissed by Janin* Epictetus (in 536) ** Vincentius (in 553) ismissed by Janin* Ciprianus I (in 680) ** only Janin also includes a bishop Sisinnius, attending the council in Trullo (692), but apparently assigns the same to namesake see Claudiopolis in Isauria * Nicetas I (in 787) * Ignatius, a friend and correspondent of Patriarch Photios I of Constantinople * Ciprianus II (869 – 879) * Nicetas II (10th–11th centuries) * John (1028 - 1029).

Titular see

The archdiocese was nominally restored by the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

as a Latin Metropolitan titular archbishopric no later than the seventeenth century, first named Claudiopolis (Latin) / Claudiopoli (Curiate Italian), renamed in 1933 as Claudiopolis in Honoriade (Latin) / Claudiopoli di Onoriade (Italiano) / Claudiopolitan(us) in Honoriade (Latin). It has been held by: * Alfredo Bruniera (1954.12.12 – 2000.03.26) * Alain Guynot de Boismenu, Sacred Heart Missionaries (M.S.C.) (1945.01.18 – 1953.11.05) * Georges-Prudent-Marie Bruley des Varannes (1924.02.13 – 1943.05.29) * Giuseppe Fiorenza (1905.12.11 – 1924.01.27) * Giovanni Battista Bertagna (1901.03.26 – 1905.02.11) * Joseph-Adolphe Gandy, M.E.P. (1889.01.15 – 1892.09.29) * Eugène-Jean-Claude-Joseph Desflèches (范若瑟), Paris Foreign Missions Society (M.E.P.) (1883.02.20 – 1887.11.07) * Carlo Gigli (1880.12.13 – 1881.08.24) * Stephanus Antonius Aucher (1796.07.05 – ?) * Tommaso Battiloro (1767.11.20 – 1767.12.14) *''Titular Bishop: Joannes Nicastro'' (1724.09.11 – ?) *''Titular Bishop: Walenty Konstantyn Czulski'' (1721.02.12 – 1724.02.10?) *''Titular Bishop: Piotr Tarło'' (1713.01.30 – 1720.12.16) * Jean-Baptiste Adhémar de Monteil de Grignan (1667.08.03 – 1689.03.09) *'' Titular Bishop: Tomás de Paredes,

Augustinians Augustinians are members of several religious orders that follow the Rule of Saint Augustine, written about 400 A.D. by Augustine of Hippo. There are two distinct types of Augustinians in Catholic religious orders dating back to the 12th–13 ...

(O.E.S.A.)'' (1652.10.14 – 1667.02.17)

Places of interest

TR Bolu asv2021-10 img25 Municipality Square

TR Bolu asv2021-10 img01 hamam shoe shop

The countryside around Bolu offers excellent walking and other outdoor pursuits. There are hotels in the town. Sights near the town include: * The 14th-century grand mosque, ''Yıldırım Bayezid Camii'' (C pronounced as J). * Bolu Museum holding artifacts from Hittite, Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman periods. * The

hot springs A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a Spring (hydrology), spring produced by the emergence of Geothermal activity, geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow ...

, ''Kaplıcalar''. * Lake Abant and village of Gölköy, near the university campus. * The famous volcanic crater lake called Gölcük. * Hayreddin-i Tokadi, the local

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

whose shrine is visited by folk in an annual festival and on Eid holidays. * Yedigöller National Park * Aslahaddin Mosque, where an early Muslim martyr rests * The ruins of the ancient stadion of Claudiopolis * Bolu Kartalkaya ski resort

Culture

Architecture and sights

Bolu is home to examples of

Ottoman architecture Ottoman architecture is an architectural style or tradition that developed under the Ottoman Empire over a long period, undergoing some significant changes during its history. It first emerged in northwestern Anatolia in the late 13th century an ...

. The Bayezid Grand Mosque dates to 1899, commissioned by Sultan Abdul Hamid II, but was originally built by Bayezid the Thunderbolt and is home to decorations that resemble embroideries. The Kadı Mosque is perhaps the best example of classical Ottoman architecture in the city, having been built in 1499 and having its entrance embroidered with ornate kündekari works.Büyük Larousse, vol. 4 (1992), p. 1781, Milliyet Gazetesi Yayınları, "Bolu". Other Ottoman mosques in the city include the İmaret Mosque, built in the 16th century, Saraçhane Mosque, built in 1750, Ilıca Mosque, built in 1510–11, Karaköy Cuma Mosque, built in 1562-63 and Tabaklar Mosque, built in 1897. The remains of the ancient city of Bithynium have been found in four hills in the city centre, Kargatepe, Hisartepe, Hıdırlıktepe and the Uğurlunaip Hill. In Hıdırlıktepe, a tomb and the remains of a theatre have been uncovered. In Hisartepe, a temple believed to have been built by the Roman emperor

for his lover

has been excavated. In 1911, it was noted that "in and around oluare numerous marbles with Greek inscriptions, chiefly sepulchral, and architectural fragments." Bolu Museum was established in 1975 to display and protect artifacts found in the Bolu area. It functions as both an archaeological and an ethnographic museum and is home to 3286 archaeological and 1677 ethnographic artifacts, as well as 12,095 historical coins. The archaeological artifacts chronicle the history of the area from

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

to Byzantine eras. File:Bolu Izzet Baysal Caddesi june 2019 3097.jpg, Bolu Izzet Baysal Street File:Bolu Lower Tashhan and Beyazit mosque june 2019 3069.jpg, Bolu Lower Tashhan and Bayezid Mosque File:TR Bolu asv2021-10 img17 Siteler Mosque.jpg, Bolu Siteler Mosque File:TR Bolu asv2021-10 img20 Aktaş hamam.jpg, Bolu Aktaş hamam File:TR Bolu asv2021-10 img16 street fountain.jpg, Bolu street fountain File:Bolu062007 7519.jpg, Bolu Ulu Cami or Beyazıt Mosque interior File:Bolu Beyazit Cami 7526.jpg, Bolu Ulu Cami or Beyazıt Mosque entrance File:Bolu Sarachane Mosque june 2019 3090.jpg, Bolu Saraçhane Mosque File:Bolu062007 7532.jpg, Bolu Yukarı Taş Han

Cuisine

Local specialities include a sweet made of hazelnuts (which grow in abundance here) and an eau-de-cologne with the scent of grass. One feature of Bolu dear to the local people is the soft spring water (''kökez suyu'') obtained from fountains in the town.

Media

Bolu is home to 12 local newspapers published in the city centre, two local TV channels (Köroğlu TV and Abant TV), three local radio stations and six local magazines.

Economy

Bolu is a busy market town rather than a large city. It has one long shopping street and an attractive forested mountain countryside. Students from the

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

and soldiers based in Bolu make an important contribution to the local economy, which traditionally depended on forestry and handicrafts. Market day is Monday, when people from the surrounding villages come into town for their weekly shop. The main road from Istanbul to Ankara used to cross Mount Bolu, although more people would stop at the roadside restaurants than actually come into the town, and anyway now the Mount Bolu Tunnel is open most people will rush by on the motorway rather than climb up into Bolu, especially in winter when the road has often been closed due to ice and snow. Some of the service stations on the mountain road have already announced their closure or moved elsewhere.

Climate

Bolu has a borderline

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

and

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(

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 ...

: ''Cfb,'' or Trewartha climate classification: ''Dcb''), with chilly, snowy winters and warm summers with cool nights. Bolu is a fairly cloudy and foggy city and annual sunshine hours are about 1,800. Unlike the low-lying, sheltered city center, many parts of the province, like Gerede, have a colder

(''Dfb/Dcb''), due to cold winters. Highest recorded temperature: on 15 August 2023
Lowest recorded temperature: on 5 January 1942

Notable people

* Alexandru Callimachi (1737–1821), Prince of Moldavia *

(c. 111 - c. 130), lover of Roman Emperor

, posthumously worshiped as a god * Köroğlu

References

Sources and external links

*
Izzet Baysal University official website

Anatolia.com - Bolu

Pictures of the city

Information about Bolu city

Bolu News
; Bibliography - ecclesiastical history * Konrad Eubel, ''Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi'', vol. 2, p. 130; vol. 4, p. 153; vol. 5, p. 161; vol. 6, p. 169 * Raymond Janin, lemma '1. Claudiopolis', i
''Dictionnaire d'Histoire et de Géographie ecclésiastiques''
vol. XII, Paris 1953, coll. 1077–1079 * Michel Lequien
''Oriens christianus in quatuor Patriarchatus digestus''
Paris 1740, Vol. I, coll. 567-572 * Heinrich Gelzer
''Ungedruckte und ungenügend veröffentlichte Texte der Notitiae episcopatuum''
in: Abhandlungen der philosophisch-historische classe der bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften'', 1901, pp. 529–641 * Pius Bonifacius Gams
''Series episcoporum Ecclesiae Catholicae''
Leipzig 1931, p. 442 {{Authority control Populated places in Bolu District Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Turkey Roman sites in Turkey Provincial municipalities in Turkey