This article is about the city in Turkey. For the village on Cyprus, seePalaikythro.
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Clockwise from top: Clocktower in Balıkesir,Zagnos Pasha Mosque, Balıkesir Museum, Sarımsaklı Beach,Ottoman Architecture in Balıkesir, Atatürk Park, Fountain in Balıkesir
Balıkesir (Turkish pronunciation:[baˈlɯcesiɾ]) is a city in theMarmara region of Turkey. It is the seat ofBalıkesir Province, which is also ametropolitan municipality. As of 2022, the population of Balıkesir Province is 1,257,590,[2] of which 314,958 in the city proper (the urban part of the districtsAltıeylül andKaresi).[1] Between 1341 and 1922, it was the capital ofKarasi.
Close to modern Balıkesir was theRoman town ofHadrianutherae, founded, as its name commemorates, by the emperorHadrian.[3] Hadrian came to the region in 124 A.D., as a result of a successful bear hunting he had established a city called his name here. It is estimated that the city consisted of the castle, the homestead, the stud and a few homes. It is thought that the small town was where the current stadium is present.[4]
Members of the Roman and Pre-Byzantine dynasty had used this castle as a vacation area and for hunting. During theByzantine period, the small town which had become increasingly neglected was known asPalaiokastron (Greek:Παλαιόκαστρον) meaning Old Castle.[5]
Also, when theTurkomans came from Middle Asia to Mysia, they called it Balukiser because of the remains of the castle, asHisar is the Turkish word for castle. Balıkesir's former name was Karasi because Balıkesir city was founded byKarasi Bey in the 13th century as using the remains of the small town. 1297 is considered as the date of establishment of the city which was one of the few to be founded by the Turks inAnatolia. TheKarasids was a Turkic principality inMysia. Since the 13th century, Balıkesir city have been the administrative centre of the Mysia region.
In 1345, Balıkesir city was annexed by theOttomans. In 1898 an earthquake destroyed much of the city. The number of buildings that were not destroyed in the 1898 earthquake was only 51.[6] In 1914, Turkish students marched through the streets of the city singing a song of hatred against the Greeks.[7] In April 1916, the Christian Greeks of the villages in the vicinity of Balikesser underwent persecution from the Turks. They were refused bread on payment. The women were told that they should become Muslim so as not to die of hunger.
At the beginning of June, many young Greeks were forced by the authorities to convert to Islam at Government headquarters.[7] On 30 June 1919 Balıkesir city was occupied by the invadingGreeks but on 6 September 1922, theTurkish Army took back the city. During theTurkish War of Independence, Balıkesir was the main centre of theTurkish militias in Western Anatolia against the occupyingGreek Army.
On 3 August 1950, a major fire destroyed the centre of the city which was rebuilt later. That fire destroyed an important part of the city. According to estimates, it was the result of the firing of firecrackers belonging to child guns in a shop. According to another opinion, it was caused by the gnawing of the firecrackers of child guns by rats and this fire spread to the electrical contact. 498 shops completely burned.It is the second biggest disaster to befall in Balıkesir after the 1898 earthquake. Nearly a thousand people were unemployed. The tents were set up by the Turkish Red Crescent and food aid was provided for a long time.[8]
Most known sports club in Balıkesir isBalıkesirspor which is established in 1966. Balıkesirspor is thefootball team played in theSüper Lig after achieving promotion having finished as runners-up of theTFF First League in2013–14. The team's previous promotion was 40 years before that. Their stadium, the all-seaterBalıkesir Atatürk Stadium, has a capacity of 13,732.
Balıkesir has a fairly continental[9]hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Csa) under theKöppen climate classification and atemperate oceanic climate (Do) under theTrewartha classification. Winters are cool and wet with frequent frosts and occasional snowfall, while summers are hot and dry. The continentality increases as one moves from west to east and north to south. Therefore, winters are colder and snowier in the inland parts.[9]
Climate data for Balıkesir (1991–2020, extremes 1938–present)
In the Official Gazette of the Republic of Turkey, under law 6360, published on 6 December 2012, Balıkesir Municipality qualified as a"Metropolitan".[12]
^Prof. Dr Bilge Umar, Mysia, İnkılap Yayınevi, 2006, sf. 153
^Hasluck, F. W. (2010)."Hadrianutherae, Balukiser".Hasluck, F. (2010). In Cyzicus: Being Some Account of the History and Antiquities of That City, and of the District Adjacent to It, with the Towns of Apollonia Ad Rhyndacum, Miletupolis, Hadrianutherae, Priapus, Zeleia, Etc. Cambridge Library Collection – Archaeology:88–94.doi:10.1017/CBO9780511696978.009.ISBN9780511696978 – via Cambridge University Press.
^Karagöz, Berkan (2020). Kentlerarası Rekabette Balıkesir ve Ekonomisi, Ankara: Gece Yayınları, p. 23,ISBN978-625-7904-97-1
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