Geolocation

Located in the Western Black Sea Region, Karabük is bordered by Kastamonu in the east, Zonguldak in the west, Bartın in the north, Çankırı in the southeast and Bolu in the southwest. It has a surface area of ​​4,145 square kilometers. It is surrounded by the high mountains of the Northeast Anatolian Mountains and plateaus. The most important stream is the Yenice River, which connects to the Filyos River flowing into the Black Sea. It is 230 kilometers from Ankara and 400 kilometers from Istanbul.

Climate

Since Karabük is located further inland from the coast, it cannot sufficiently benefit from the humid air of the Black Sea, and the characteristics of the continental climate predominate in the province. In Karabük, which is in the transition area from the Black Sea climate to the continental climate, the transition type climate is effective. Winter and spring months are mostly rainy. The monthly average temperature in the province varies between 2.3 and 23.9 degrees, and 136.3 days of the year are rainy. The average monthly temperature throughout the year is 13.4 degrees.

Demographic Data

Karabük Center has six districts, namely Eflani, Eskipazar, Ovacık, Safranbolu and Yenice, and has a population of 243,614 according to the Address Based Population Registration System of 2020. According to the data of 2020, the population density is 59 people/km2.

Consisting of 277 villages, 78 neighborhoods, 1 town and 6 districts, Karabük has an urban population of 189.534 (77.8%) and a rural population of 54.080 (22.2%).

Administrative Information

In 1927, while Karabük was a 13-house neighborhood of the village of Hoşbeli, Safranbolu district of Zonguldak province, its importance increased with the Ankara-Zonguldak railway opened in 1935. The foundations of Karabük Iron and Steel Factory were laid by İsmet İnönü on April 3, 1937, with the direction of Atatürk, due to the possibility of transportation by rail and its proximity to coal deposits. Later on, on June 25, 1939, a municipal organization was established in Karabük, where the population density began to increase. Karabük, which was a sub-district of Safranbolu district in 1941 with the population exceeding 10 thousand, experienced a rapid population increase with the development of small industry and sub-industry in parallel with the iron and steel industry, and became a district of Zonguldak with the law numbered 6068 on March 3, 1953. Later, Karabük, from Çankırı with the Decree Law No. 550 published in the Official Gazette No. 22305 on June 6, 1995; from Ovacık and Eskipazar districts and Zonguldak; With the merging of Eflani, Safranbolu and Yenice districts, it was separated from Zonguldak in 1995 and became the 78th province of Turkey. Today, Karabük consists of the Central district, Eflani, Eskipazar, Ovacık, Safranbolu and Yenice districts in administrative terms, and has a total of 7 municipalities and 277 villages, including the central districts and towns connected to the districts.

Origin of Karabuk Name

Karabük got its name from the geographical environment in which it lived. The words "Kara" and "Bük" have been the source of the formation of the name Karabük, meaning a place of black bush. Turkmen communities living in these lands have taken the name of the Karabük community in this way.

According to another view, the name Karabük comes from "paddy rice fields". Paddy field, by the people engaged in production according to the direction of the sun; It has been called by names such as land, day and beyond. As such, the idioms Kara-bük, Gün-bük and Öte-bük appear spontaneously. Karabük Iron and Steel Factory, which consisted of rice fields before 1936, where a significant part of Safranbolu rice was produced, lost this feature with the laying of the foundations, and now the area where the factories are located bears the name of Karabük.