Artvin (Արդվին in Armenian) is a city in north-eastern Turkeyon the Çoruh River near the Georgian border. (Lat (DMS) 41° 10' 56N Long (DMS) 41° 49' 10E Altitude (meters) 345 m)
The population includes Lazes, Turks, Georgians, Kurds, and Hemsheens.
The Catholic Encyclopedia, informs that Artvin city center had 5,900 inhabitants in 1894, mostly Armenians and Turks. There were nine Armenian Catholic churches, and four schools for boys and three schools for girls.
The diocese of Artvin had 12,000 Armenian Catholics, 25 mission priests, 30 Catholic churches and chapels, 22 primary schools with almost 900 pupils. The girls were taught by the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
In 1878, Russia annexed the territory and united the diocese with that of Tiraspol. Russia subsequently, prevented the appointment of a new bishop.
Because of the tragedies of the Armenian deportation between 1914-1918, currently no Christian Armenians live in Artvin. Kars, Artvin was ceded to Russia at the conclusion of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78 but It was returned to Turkey by a treaty between Turkey and Soviet Russia signed at Brest-Litovsk in 1918.
Artvin < Artavani "fertile town" < Armenian Arta, arda "arable field" + vani "district,village, town, church"
Artvin | Artvin | ართვინი (ქალაქი) | Artvin