Borçka | |
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  Borçka Location in Turkey | |
| Coordinates:41°21′49″N41°40′45″E / 41.36361°N 41.67917°E /41.36361; 41.67917 | |
| Country | Turkey |
| Province | Artvin |
| District | Borçka |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Ercan Orhan (CHP) |
| Elevation | 123 m (404 ft) |
| Population (2021)[1] | 11,409 |
| Time zone | UTC+3 (TRT) |
| Postal code | 08400 |
| Climate | Cfb |
| Website | www |
Borçka (Laz andGeorgian:ბორჩხა,romanized: Borchkha) is a town inArtvin Province in theBlack Sea region ofTurkey, on theborder withGeorgia. It is the seat ofBorçka District.[2] Its population is 11,409 (2021).[1]
Borçka is reached by a winding road up from theBlack Sea coast, alongside theÇoruh River (Nigali valley). There is a medieval stone arched bridge across the river just west of the town.
Borçka Lake is a popular excursion fromArtvin.
Borçka’s old name isPorchkha (Georgian:ფორჩხა). The origin of this toponym is not known for sure—though it is possible that it is derived from the Georgian word "porchhi" (ფორჩხი), which can mean “thicket” or “smallforest”. Also, words such as "borchkha" (ბორჩხა) meaning “dry wood” inMingrelian and "borchkhalo" (ბორჩხალო) meaning “frost” in theGuriandialect of Georgian could be related to this name.[3] The name Porchkha has evolved over time into Borchha, Borcha, Borchkha, and the currentTurkish spelling of “Borçka”.
The settlement of what is today Borçka may have been mentioned inTrapezuntine sources as“Bourzo”. The area remained in Trapezuntine possession until 1364 when it was captured by theKingdom of Georgia.[4]
Borçka itself was first directly mentioned in 18th centuryGeorgian geographer and historianVakhushti of Kartli’sDescription of the Kingdom of Georgia as Porchkha as a large town west of the Çoruh[a] within the historical Georgian region ofKlarjeti.[5] At the time, the town was located within theEyalet of Childir in theOttoman Empire. The region where the town lies today was a part ofSamtskhe-Saatabago prior to its annexation by the Ottomans in the late 16th century. Despite being first mentioned fairly recently compared to nearby settlements, the presence of achurch in the Borçka Castle indicates that the structure was likely built before Ottoman conquest, thus it can be said that Borçka was probably already settled before.[6][7]
The town was recorded again in an 1835 Ottomandefter as “Borçha” (Ottoman Turkish:بوچخە). Thedefter recorded that the male population of the town was 219, and placed it in thenahiye ofBeğlevan in thesanjak of Lazistan of the Childir eyalet.[8]
Georgian geographer andRussian armygeneralGiorgi Kazbegi wrote in 1874 that Borçha did not resemble a typical village as it had around 80 households. He noted that the villagers did not engage inagricultural oranimal husbandry, therefore the settlement lacked anycattle orhorses. Instead, the residents were engaged inpottery andboating, and the boats replaced the use of horses as transportation.[9]
In the 1876salname for thevilayet of Trebizond, the name of the town was recorded as “Borcha” (Ottoman Turkish:بورجخە) instead of the previous “Borçha”. The salname placed the locality within the nahiye ofGönye, sanjak of Lazistan, Trebizond vilayet.[note 1] The total population counted together with the nearby settlement of Situret/Tzitureti [tr;ka] were a total of 400 people living in 110 households, along with the new presence of taxablelivestock, specifically 10 goats, 2 horses, 20 cows and 10 oxen.[10][11]
TheRussian Empire occupied the town during theRusso-Turkish War (1877–1878) and was later ceded to Russia in theTreaty of Berlin (1878). Russian officials assigned the village to theBatumi okrug within theKutaisi Governorate. An 1886 census recorded the town as “Borchkha” (Russian:Борчха) populated by 147 men and 149 women from 52 households, totaling 296 people. The ethnic makeup of Borchkha was entirely made up of Muslim Georgians, orAdjarians.[12]
Georgian historianZakaria Chichinadze visited the town in 1893 and wrote that there were 60 households in Borchkha, two mosques and a few shops, a castle on a rock, and thatIvane Caiani lived in the town. Indeed, Caiani was a Georgian soldier in the Russian army who sent articles to Georgian newspapers while he was on duty there, providing extensive information about Borchkha and its surroundings at that time. In one of these articles, Caiani states that the people living in Borchkha village and some parts of the Chorokh coast earned their living only by boating. He writes that another source of income for the people of Borchkha was pottery.[13] Chichinadze noted that around 40 households had emigrated from Borchkha after Russian annexation,[14]such was the case with many other towns.
In 1918, amidst the chaos followingWorld War I and the ongoingRussian Civil War,Batum oblast came under the control of the newly declaredDemocratic Republic of Georgia. After local unrest, Ottoman forces enteredBatumi and imposed theTreaty of Batum, which returned the area back to the Ottomans. The next year, however, the area was occupied by theBritish Empire. The British withdrew in 1920 and the province was returned to Georgia. Less than a year after,Kemalist forces under the command ofKâzım Karabekir attempted to take Artvin, but were defeated by Georgian forces. In the end, theBolshevikRed Armyinvaded Georgia to annex and overthrow theMenshevik government, and the area where Borchkha is located was given toTurkey in theTreaty of Kars.[15][16]
Borçka became the center of the district of the same name on July 7, 1921.[17] A census conducted the following year shows thelivâ of Artvin consisted of themerkez (central)kaza and the remaining kazas of Borçka andŞavşat. Borçka kaza included the nahiyes of Macahel, Maradidi (Muratlı), andMurgul, in addition to its own central nahiye. The census showed 130 people living in the town of Borçka and a total of 4,373 people living in the rest of the Borçka district. The population of the central district consisted of a mix of Georgians and Laz people, while the population of Maradidi, Macahel and Murgul districts consisted of Georgians.[18] Borçka was demoted from a kaza to a nahiye on June 26, 1926. During this time, it was recorded that there were 40 villages within the borders of Borçka district. Borçka was promoted to a kaza again on 28 May 1928.
Borçka kaza was connected to the Çoruh vilayet in the 1940 general census. The vilayet of Çoruh included the kazas of Borçka,Hopa, Şavşat,Yusufeli, and its capital kaza of Artvin. Borçka kaza had a population of 17,844.
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