It is one of the five provinces of Turkey located on the European Continent. Bordered by Bulgaria to the north, Edirne to the west, the Black Sea and Istanbul to the east, and Tekirdağ to the south, Kırklareli is one of our important provinces that has been settled since prehistoric times. It is understood from the discovered documents that the region was densely populated during the Neolithic (6000 BC), Chalcolithic, Bronze, and Iron Ages.
Local Thracian societies, which could not establish political unity in the early periods, continued their existence as independent feudal principalities or city-states in later periods. However, Scythian raids from the north and Ancient Greek cultural pressure from the south never ceased. In addition, even the Persian King Darius (513 BC), coming from much further away, was able to keep the region under his sovereignty for a period.
It is known that 70 cities and towns, primarily Philippopolis (Plovdiv) and Arcadiopolis (Lüleburgaz), were destroyed during the invasion of the Huns in 441-447 AD. Kırklareli was taken from the Byzantines by Demirtaş Pasha during the reign of Sultan Murad I (1362 AD) and incorporated into the Turkish-Ottoman administration. After World War I, Kırklareli remained under Greek occupation for two years and achieved its eternal freedom on November 10, 1922.
Kırklareli, leaning against the Yıldız (Istranca) Mountains to its north and northeast, is a paradise of nature and history with its forests, lakes, and the newly discovered natural beauties of Demirköy (İğneada) and Kıyıköy coasts, as well as its numerous castles, mounds, tumuli, dolmens, rock monasteries, mosques, baths, bridges, and many other cultural values.
Tourism Diversity: Cultural tourism, cave tourism, hunting and nature tourism, camping and caravan tourism, gastronomic tourism, and trekking.
Population Information: According to the 2015 address-based population census, it has a population of 346,973 and has 7 districts connected to the city center.
Historical Monuments in Districts
- Center: Hızırbey Complex, Military Bastions, Fountains.
- Babaeski: Cedit Ali Pasha Mosque and Bridge.
- Demirköy: Fatih Iron Foundry.
- Kofçaz: Tumuli and Dolmens.
- Lüleburgaz: Sokollu Complex, Zindan Baba Tomb, Tumuli.
- Pehlivanköy: Station Building, Akarca Bridge.
- Pınarhisar: Pınarhisar Castle, Fountains.
- Vize: Little Hagia Sophia Church (Gazi Süleyman Pasha Mosque), Vize Castle, Amphitheater.
The Black Sea to the east of Kırklareli and the Istranca Forests to the north and northeast add unique beauty to our province. The 2720-meter-long Dupnisa Cave, of which 450 meters has been opened to tourism, is a natural wonder.