Artvin Province (Turkish:Artvin ili;Georgian:ართვინის პროვინცია,Artvinis p'rovintsia;Laz: ართვინიშ დობადონაArtvinish dobadona;) is aprovince inTurkey, on theBlack Sea coast in the northeastern corner of the country, on the border withGeorgia. Artvin also borders the Turkish provinces ofErzurum,Ardahan andRize. Its area is 7,393 km2,[2] and its population is 169,403 (2022).[1] The provincial capital is the city ofArtvin.
Artvin is an attractive area of steep valleys carved by theÇoruh River system, surrounded by high mountains ofKaçkar, Karçal andYalnızçam (up to 3900 m) and forest with much national parkland including the Karagöl-Sahara, which contains theŞavşat andBorçka lakes. The weather in Artvin is very wet and mild at the coast, and as a result is heavily forested. This greenery runs from the top all the way down to theBlack Sea coast. The rain turns to snow at higher altitudes, and the peaks are very cold in winter.[3]
The forests are home tobrown bears andwolves. The Çoruh is now being dammed in 11 places for hydro-electric power, including the 249 mDeriner Dam and others atBorçka andMuratlı.
Hopa mines, 1900s
Local industries include bee-keeping especially inMacahel region.[4]
Artvin is traversed by the northeasterly line of equal latitude and longitude.
In addition to theethnic Turks, the province is home to communities ofLaz people andHemshin peoples. Autochthonous Muslim Georgians form the majority in parts of Artvin Province east of the Çoruh River. Immigrant groups of Georgian origins, found scattered in Turkey are known as Chveneburi.[8] In particular, there is a prominent community ofChveneburiGeorgians many of them descendants ofMuslim families from Georgia who migrated during the struggles between theOttoman Empire andRussian Empire during the 19th century. With such diverse peoples, Artvin has a rich variety of folk song and dance (seeArifana andKochari for examples of folk culture).[9]
Districts of the Province of Artvin. Central district also has the same name just like most provinces in Turkey.
In 1924, the Liva Sanjak was abolished and the Artvin Vilayet was created. Artvin Vilayet was combined with Rize to form Çoruh Vilayet with the capital at Rize. Later it was separated into Artvin Province with the districts of Ardanuç, Arhavi, Artvin, Borçka, Hopa, Murgul, Şavşat and Yusufeli.[10]
Artvin province is divided into 9districts (capital district inbold):
