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Kütahya is a city in western Turkey with 170,000 inhabitants (2004 estimate), lying on the Porsuk river, at 930 metres above sea level. It is the capital of Kütahya province with 660,000 inhabitants (2004 estimate).
The industries of Kütahya have long traditions, going back to ancient times. Kütahya is famous for its kiln products, such as tiles and pottery, which are glazed and multicoloured. Modern industries are sugar refining, tanning, nitrate processing and different products of meerschaum, which is extracted nearby. The local agricultural industry produces cereals, fruits and sugar beet. In addition stock raising is of much importance. Not far from Kütahya there are important mines extracting lignite.
Kütahya is linked by rail and road with Balikesir 250 km to the west, Konya 450 km to the southeast, Eskişehir 70 km northeast and Ankara 300 km east.
Kütahya's largest town is Tavşanlı
Kütahya's old neighbourhoods are dominated by traditional Ottoman houses made of wood and stucco, some of the best examples being found along Germiyan Caddesi. The region of Kütahya has large areas of gentle slopes with agricultural land culminating in high mountain ridges to the north and west.
The Kütahya Museum has a fine collection of arts and cultural artifacts from the area. The city's university is named Dumlupınar University and was founded in 1992, named after a significant battle in the formation of modern day Turkey. Aesop, the ancient Greek writer of fables, is believed to have been born in Kütahya.
History
- 3rd millennium BCE: Settled, and known as Kotiaion or Cotyaeum, "the city of the goddess Kotys". It was an important stopover on the road from the Marmara region to Mesopotamia.
- 12th century: Incorporated into the Phrygian kingdom, becoming one of the country's most important cities.
- Around 700 BC: Phrygia collapses, but Kotiaion position as a strong city survives.
- 1071 CE: Conquered by the Seljuks.
- Around 1095: Conquered by the Crusaders.
- 1182: Reconquered by the Seljuks.
- 1302: Becomes capital of the Germiyan Turkmen principality.
- 1428: Becomes part of the Ottoman Empire.
- 1514: Sultan Selim I resettles tile-workers from Tabriz in Kütahya and Iznik after defeating the Persians. With this Kütahya emerges as a centre for the Ottoman ceramic industry, producing tiles and faience for mosques, churches and official buildings in places all over the Middle East.
- 19th century: With the fast growth of Eskisehir 70 km away, Kütahya has lost much of its regional and economic importance.
Notable people
Notable people who are from or have resided in Kütahya:
- Lajos Kossuth : Hungarian lawyer, politician and Regent-President of the Kingdom of Hungary in 1849
- Komitas Vardapet, Armenian priest, composer of choir music and musicologist
External links
"Kütahya"