Karabük Province is a landlocked province in the northern part of Anatolia (northern central Turkey), located about 200 km north of Ankara, 115 km away from Zonguldak and 113 km away from Kastamonu. Its area is 4,142 km2, and its population is 252,058 (2022). The main city is Karabük which is located about 100 km south of the Black Sea coast. Karabük Province is one of the newest provinces of Turkey. Established in 1995, it comprises Karabük, Eflani, Safranbolu and Yenice districts which were formerly part of Zonguldak Province and Eskipazar and Ovacık districts which were previously part of Çankırı Province. Karabük is located on the highway between Bartın and Ankara, which was in ancient times an important route between Amasra on the coast and central Anatolia. The railway between Ankara and Zonguldak passes through Karabük. Safranbolu, a historically important city, which is listed in the UNESCO World Heritage List, is located in Karabük Province.

Districts

Karabük province is divided into 6 districts (capital district in bold):

History

Karabük received its name from its geography. Its name occurred from combine of Kara, black in English, and Bük, shrubbery in English. Although there are many tumuli and hill towns which give information of history of the region before the invention of writing, due to absence of scientific analysis, there is not sufficient information. However, as to archeological researches which were done around Eskipazar and Ovacık, the earliest site in this region is Yazıboy, which is a village of Eskipazar nowadays. Researches think that one of tumulus in this village reach today from b.c. 2500.

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