View source for Kars

{{Short description|City in Turkey}}
{{pp|small=yes}}
{{other uses}}
{{Infobox Turkey place
| type                 = municipality
| name                 = Kars
| other_name           = Կարս <br> Qers
| image_skyline        = {{multiple image|total_width=280px|perrow=1/2/2/2|border=infobox
      | image1                   = Kars Panorama.JPG
      | image2                   = Holy Apostles Church of Kars 001.jpg
      | image3                   = The castle of Kars.jpg
      | image4                   = Kars Muradiye Hamamı 5426.jpg
}}
| image_caption        = '''Clockwise from top:''' View of Kars city centre, [[Castle of Kars]], Panoramic view of Kars Topçuoğlu Hamam and [[Taşköprü (Kars)|Taşköprü]], [[Cathedral of Kars]]
| image_logo           = 
| coordinates          = {{coord|40|36|28|N|43|05|45|E|region:TR|display=inline,title}}
| province             = Kars
| district             = Kars
| leader_party         = [[Nationalist Movement Party|MHP]]
| leader_name          = Ötüken Senger
| area_footnotes       = 
| area_total_km2       = 
| elevation_m          = 1768
| population_footnotes = <ref name=tuik/>
| population_total     = 91450
| population_as_of     = 2022
| postal_code          = 36000
| area_code            = 0474
| website              = {{url|http://www.kars.bel.tr/}}
}}
'''Kars''' ({{Langx|hy|Կարս}} or {{Langx|hy|Ղարս|label=none}};<ref name="SAE">{{cite book |last1=Arakelyan |first1=Babken |url= |title=Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia |title-link=Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia |last2=Vardanyan |first2=Vrezh |last3=Khalpakhchyan |first3=Hovhannes |publisher= |year=1979 |volume=5 |location=Yerevan |pages=342–343 |contribution=s.v. Kars |author-link1=Babken Arakelyan |chapter-url=https://hy.wikisource.org/wiki/%D4%B7%D5%BB:%D5%80%D5%A1%D5%B5%D5%AF%D5%A1%D5%AF%D5%A1%D5%B6_%D5%8D%D5%B8%D5%BE%D5%A5%D5%BF%D5%A1%D5%AF%D5%A1%D5%B6_%D5%80%D5%A1%D5%B6%D6%80%D5%A1%D5%A3%D5%AB%D5%BF%D5%A1%D6%80%D5%A1%D5%B6_(Soviet_Armenian_Encyclopedia)_5.djvu/342}}</ref> {{langx|az|Qars}}; {{langx|ku-Latn|Qers}};<ref>{{cite book|author1=Adem Avcıkıran|url=http://tirsik.net/danegeh/pirtuk/ismail%20bulbul/anamneza%20bi%20kurmanc%C3%AE.pdf|title=Kürtçe Anamnez Anamneza bi Kurmancî|date=2009|page=57|language=tr, ku|access-date=17 December 2019|archive-date=22 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220722112519/https://tirsik.net/danegeh/pirtuk/ismail%20bulbul/anamneza%20bi%20kurmanc%C3%AE.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> {{langx|ka|ყარსი}}) is a city in northeast [[Turkey]]. It is the seat of [[Kars Province]] and [[Kars District]].<ref name=il>[https://www.e-icisleri.gov.tr/Anasayfa/MulkiIdariBolumleri.aspx İl Belediyesi] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150706215822/https://www.e-icisleri.gov.tr/Anasayfa/MulkiIdariBolumleri.aspx |date=2015-07-06 }}, Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 1 March 2023.</ref> As of 2022, its population was 91,450.<ref name=tuik>{{Cite web |title=Address-based population registration system (ADNKS) results dated 31 December 2022, Favorite Reports|url=https://biruni.tuik.gov.tr/medas/?kn=95&locale=en |access-date=13 March 2023|publisher=[[TÜİK]]|language=en|format=XLS}}</ref> Kars, in classical historiography ([[Strabo]]), was in the ancient region known as ''Chorzene'' ({{langx|el|Χορζηνή}}), part of the province of [[Ayrarat]] in the [[Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)|Kingdom of Armenia]],<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0239:book=11:chapter=14&highlight=chorzene#note-link4 | title=Geography Stabo - Book XI - Chapter XIV | access-date=2011-05-30 | author=Strabo}}</ref> and later the [[historic capitals of Armenia|capital]] of the [[Bagratid Kingdom of Armenia]] from 929 to 961. Currently, the mayor of Kars is Ötüken Senger. The city had an [[Armenians|Armenian]] [[ethnic majority]] until it was re-captured by [[Turkish National Movement|Turkish nationalist forces]] in late 1920.

== Etymology ==
The city's name may derive from the [[Armenian language|Armenian]] word {{Transliteration|hy|hars}}, meaning 'bride'.<ref>{{cite book|last=Room|first=Adrian|title=Placenames of the World|publisher=McFarland|year=2003|isbn=0-7864-1814-1|page=178}}</ref> According to another hypothesis, the name derives from the [[Georgian language|Georgian]] word {{Transliteration|ka|kari}}, meaning 'gate'.<ref name="trudy">{{cite book|last=Ring|first=Trudy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=74JI2UlcU8AC&pg=PA357|title=International Dictionary of Historic Places: Southern Europe|author2=Salkin, Robert M.|author3=La Boda, Sharon|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=1996|isbn=1-884964-02-8|page=357}}</ref>

== History ==
===Medieval period===
Little is known of the early history of Kars beyond the fact that, during medieval times, it had its own dynasty of Armenian rulers and was the capital of a region known as [[Vanand]]. Medieval Armenian historians referred to the city by a variety of names, including {{Transliteration|xcl|Karuts’ k’aghak’}} ('Kars city'), {{Transliteration|xcl|Karuts’ berd}}, {{Transliteration|xcl|Amrots’n Karuts’}}, {{Transliteration|xcl|Amurn Karuts’}} (all meaning 'Kars Fortress').<ref name="SAE" /> At some point in the ninth century (at least by 888) it entered into the domains of the [[Bagratid Armenia|Armenian Bagratunis]]. Kars was the capital of the [[Bagratid Armenia|Bagratid kingdom of Armenia]] between 929 and 961.<ref name="Grove Encyclopedia">{{cite book|title=The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture, Volume 3|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2009|isbn=978-0-19-530991-1|editor1=Bloom, Jonathan M.|location=Oxford|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=un4WcfEASZwC&dq=kars+capital+armenia+928&pg=RA1-PA371 371]|editor2=Blair, Sheila}}</ref> During this period, the town's cathedral, later known as the [[Cathedral of Kars|Church of the Holy Apostles]], was built.<ref>{{in lang|hy}} [[Varazdat Harutyunyan|Harutyunyan, Varazdat M.]] "Chartarapetutyun" [Architecture] in ''Hay Zhoghovrdi Patmutyun'' [History of the Armenian People], eds. [[Tsatur Aghayan]] et al. Yerevan: Armenian Academy of Sciences, 1976, vol. 3, pp.&nbsp;374–375.</ref>

In 963, shortly after the Bagratuni seat was transferred to [[Ani]], Kars became the capital of a separate independent kingdom, again called Vanand. However, the extent of its actual independence from the Kingdom of Ani is uncertain: it was always in the possession of the relatives of the rulers of Ani, and, after Ani's capture by the [[Byzantine Empire]] in 1045, the Bagratuni title "King of Kings" held by the ruler of Ani was transferred to the ruler of Kars. In 1064, just after the capture of Ani by [[Alp Arslan]] (leader of the [[Seljuk Turks]]), the Armenian king of Kars, [[Gagik-Abas]], paid homage to the victorious Turks so that they would not lay siege to his city. In 1065 Gagik-Abas ceded his kingdom to the Byzantine Empire, but soon after Kars was taken by the Seljuk Turks.<ref name="SAE"/>

[[File:Armenian Cathedral of Kars.png|thumb|The 10th-century [[Cathedral of Kars|Armenian Church of the Holy Apostles]], as seen in a photo taken in the late 19th century.]]
[[File:Bagratuni Armenia 1000-en.svg|thumb|Map of the Armenian Kingdom under the reign of the Bagratid dynasty, 10-11th centuries A.D.]]
The Seljuks quickly relinquished direct control over Kars and it became a small emirate whose territory corresponded closely to that of Vanand, and which bordered the similarly created but larger [[Shaddadids|Shaddadid]] emirate centered at Ani. The Kars emirate was a vassal of the [[Saltukids]] in Erzurum, whose forces were effective in opposing [[Kingdom of Georgia|Georgian]] attempts at seizing Kars. Thus, it was only in 1206 that Zakare of the [[Zakarids–Mkhargrdzeli]] succeeded in capturing Kars, joining it to their fiefdom of Ani.<ref>{{harvnb|Lordkipanidze|Hewitt|1987|p=135}}.</ref>

In 1242, Kars was conquered by the [[Mongols]]{{sfn|Dashdondog|2011|p=58}} and later the city fell under Georgian influence. During the reign of [[David IX of Georgia]], the [[Ilkhanate]] occupied the southern territories of the [[Kingdom of Georgia]], which included Kars.{{sfn|Rayfield|2013|p=145}} By 1358, the city was ruled by the [[Jalayirid Sultanate|Jalayirids]] and in 1380 it fell to the [[Qara Qoyunlu]].{{sfn|Barthold|Heywood|1997|p=670}} In 1387 the city was leveled and the surrounding countryside was devastated by [[Timur]] (Tamerlane).{{sfn|Barthold|Heywood|1997|p=670}} [[Anatolian beyliks]] followed for some time after that, until it firstly fell into the hands of the [[Qara Qoyunlu]] and subsequent [[Aq Qoyunlu]]. After the Ak Koyunlu, as it went naturally for almost all their former territories, the city fell into the hands of the newly established [[Safavid dynasty]] of [[Iran]], founded by king [[Ismail I]]. Following the [[Peace of Amasya]] of 1555 that followed the [[Ottoman–Safavid War (1532–1555)|Ottoman–Safavid War of 1533–1555]], the city was declared neutral, and its existing fortress was destroyed.<ref>[[Alexander Mikaberidze|Mikaberidze, Alexander]] [https://books.google.com/books?id=WjQfo3a1eVMC&dq=peace+of+amasya+caucasus&pg=PA698 ''Conflict and Conquest in the Islamic World: A Historical Encyclopedia, Volume 1.''] ABC-CLIO, 31 jul. 2011 {{ISBN|1598843362}} p 698</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Mikaberidze|first1=Alexander|title=Historical Dictionary of Georgia|date=2015|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-1442241466|page=xxxi|edition=2}}</ref>

In 1585, during the [[Ottoman–Safavid War (1578–1590)|Ottoman–Safavid War of 1579–1590]], the Ottomans took the city alongside [[Tabriz]].<ref>Endress, Gerhard ''Islam: An Historical Introduction'' page 194. Edinburgh University Press, 2002 {{ISBN|978-0748616206}}</ref> On June 8, 1604, during the next bout of hostilities between the two archrivals, the [[Ottoman–Safavid War (1603–1618)|Ottoman–Safavid War of 1603–1618]], Safavid ruler [[Abbas I of Persia|Abbas I]] retook the city from the Ottomans.<ref>Somel, Selcuk Aksin. (2003). ''Historical Dictionary of the Ottoman Empire'' page XXXV. Scarecrow Press, 13 feb. 2003 {{ISBN|978-0810866065}}</ref> The fortifications of the city were rebuilt by the Ottoman Sultan [[Murad III]] and were strong enough to withstand a siege by [[Nader Shah]] of [[Persian Empire|Persia]], in 1731.<ref name=EB1911/> It became the head of a [[sanjak]] in the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] [[Erzurum vilayet]].<ref name=EB1911>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Kars (town) |display=Kars |volume=15 |page=683}}</ref> In July 1744, the city was [[Siege of Kars (1744)|again besieged]] by Nader Shah. Later, in August 1745, a huge Ottoman army [[Battle of Kars (1745)|was routed]] at Kars by [[Nader Shah]] during the [[Ottoman–Persian War (1743–1746)|Ottoman–Persian War of 1743–1746]].<ref name="Dictionary of Wars">Kohn, George Childs. [https://books.google.com/books?id=qTDfAQAAQBAJ&dq=battle+of+kars+1745&pg=PA506 ''Dictionary of Wars''] Routledge, 2013. {{ISBN|978-1135954949}} p 506</ref> As a result, the Turks fled westwards, raiding their own lands as they went.<ref name="Dictionary of Wars"/>

===Russian administration===
{{see also|Kars Oblast}}
[[File:Kars 1828.jpg|left|thumb|250px|The 1828 Russian siege of Kars (painter [[January Suchodolski]]).]]
[[File:Kars, armenische Kathedrale, Heilige-Apostel-Kirche Սուրբ Առաքելոց Եկեղեցի (10. Jhdt.) (40336417982).jpg|left|thumb|250px|The Armenian Cathedral of Kars, which was converted into a mosque in 1993.]]
In 1807, Kars successfully resisted an attack by the [[Russian Empire]]. During a break between the Russian campaigns in the region conducted against the Ottomans, in 1821, commander-in-chief [[Abbas Mirza]] of [[Qajar Iran]] occupied Kars,<ref>Aksan, Virginia. ''Ottoman Wars, 1700–1870: An Empire Besieged'' Routledge, 2014, p. 463 {{ISBN|978-1317884033}}</ref> further igniting the [[Ottoman–Persian War (1821–1823)|Ottoman–Persian War of 1821–1823]]. After another Russian siege in 1828 the city was surrendered by the Ottomans on 23 June 1828, to the Russian general Count [[Ivan Paskevich]], 11,000 men becoming [[prisoners of war]].<ref name=EB1911/> At the end of the war it returned to Ottoman control for diplomatic reasons, Russia gaining only two border forts. During the [[Crimean War]], an Ottoman garrison led by British officers, including General [[William Fenwick Williams]], kept the Russians at bay during a [[Siege of Kars|protracted siege]], but after the garrison had been devastated by cholera and food supplies were depleted, the town was [[Siege of Kars|surrendered]] to [[Nikolay Muravyov-Karsky|General Muravyov]] in November 1855.<ref name=EB1911/>

The city's significance increased as the [[Ottoman Empire]] and [[Russian Empire]] contested its possession. The fortress was stormed by the Russians in the [[Battle of Kars]] during the [[Russo-Turkish War, 1877–78]]<ref name=EB1911/> under generals [[Mikhail Tarielovich Loris-Melikov|Loris-Melikov]] and [[Lazarev Ivan Davidovich|Ivan Lazarev]]. Following the war, Kars was transferred to [[Russian Empire|Russia]] by the [[Treaty of San Stefano]]. Kars became the capital of the [[Kars Okrug]] and larger [[Kars Oblast]] ("region"), comprising the ''[[okrug]]s'' ("districts") of Kars, [[Ardahan Okrug|Ardahan]], [[Kagizman Okrug|Kagizman]], and [[Olti Okrug|Olti]], which was the most southwesterly extension of the Russian [[Transcaucasus]]. In the following years the Russians supported the fortification of Kars.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Erickson|first=Edward J.|title=Ordered to Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War|url=https://archive.org/details/orderedtodiehist00eric_870|url-access=limited|date=2001|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-31516-9|pages=[https://archive.org/details/orderedtodiehist00eric_870/page/n218 184]|language=en}}</ref>

From 1878 to 1881 more than 82,000 Muslims from formerly Ottoman-controlled territory migrated to the Ottoman Empire. Among those there were more than 11,000 people from the city of Kars. At the same time, many [[Armenians]] and [[Pontic Greeks]] (here usually called [[Caucasus Greeks]]) migrated to the region from the Ottoman Empire and other regions of Transcaucasia. According to the Russian census data, by 1897 [[Armenians]] formed 49.7%, [[Russians]] 26.3%, [[Caucasus Greeks]] 11.7%, [[Polish people|Poles]] 5.3% and Turks 3.8% of the city's population.<ref name="1897 census"/>

===World War I===
[[File:Armenians fleeing Kars.jpg|thumb|220px|Armenian civilians fleeing Kars after its capture by [[Kâzım Karabekir]]'s forces.]]
[[File:Kars Mar 2020 19 48 30 444000.jpeg|thumb|220px|Interior of the Kars cathedral.]]
In the [[World War I|First World War]], the city was one of the main objectives of the Ottoman army during the lost [[Battle of Sarikamish]] in the [[Caucasus Campaign]]. Russia ceded Kars, [[Ardahan]] and [[Batum]] to the Ottoman Empire under the [[Treaty of Brest-Litovsk]] on 3 March 1918. However, by then Kars was under the effective control of Armenian and non-Bolshevik Russian forces. The Ottoman Empire captured Kars on 25 April 1918,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aniarc.am/2015/08/22/the-fall-of-kars-april-25-1918/|title=The Fall of Kars – April 25, 1918|access-date=3 April 2020|date=22 August 2015|website=ANI Armenian Research Center|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109031654/https://www.aniarc.am/2015/08/22/the-fall-of-kars-april-25-1918/|archive-date=9 November 2020|url-status=dead}}</ref> but under the [[Armistice of Mudros]] (October 1918) was required to withdraw to the pre-war frontier<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://germanhistorydocs.ghi-dc.org/pdf/eng/armistice_turk_eng.pdf|title=The Armistice Convention with Turkey|website=germanhistorydocs.ghi-dc|access-date=3 April 2020}}</ref> and Kars came under control of the [[First Republic of Armenia]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hovannisian|first=Richard G.|title=The Republic of Armenia: The First Year, 1918-1919|url=https://archive.org/details/republicofarmeni0000hova|url-access=registration|date=1971|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-01805-1|pages=[https://archive.org/details/republicofarmeni0000hova/page/222 222]|language=en}}</ref> The Ottomans refused to relinquish Kars; its military governor instead established a government, the [[Provisional National Government of the Southwestern Caucasus]], led by Fahrettin Pirioglu, that claimed Turkish sovereignty over Kars and Turkic-speaking regions as far as Batumi and [[Gyumri|Alexandropol]] (Gyumri). Much of the region fell under the administrative control of [[First Republic of Armenia|Armenia]] in January 1919 but the pro-Turkish government remained in the city until a joint operation launched by British and Armenian troops dissolved it on 19 April 1919, arresting its leaders and sending them to [[Malta exiles|Malta]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Hovannisian|first=Richard G.|author-link=Richard G. Hovannisian|title=The Republic of Armenia, Vol. I: The First Year, 1918–1919|publisher=University of California Press|year=1971|location=Berkeley|isbn =0-520-01984-9|pages =197–227}}</ref> In May 1919, Kars came under the full administration of the Armenian Republic and became the capital of its Vanand province.

Skirmishes between the [[Turkish revolutionaries]] and Armenian border troops in [[Olti]] took place during the summer of 1920. In the autumn of that year four Turkish divisions under the command of General [[Kâzım Karabekir]] invaded the Armenian Republic, triggering the [[Turkish-Armenian War]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Hovannisian|first=Richard G.|title=The Republic of Armenia, Vol. IV: Between Crescent and Sickle, Partition and Sovietization|publisher=University of California Press|year=1996|location=Berkeley|isbn=0-520-08804-2|pages=182ff|url=https://archive.org/details/republicofarmeni0000hova|url-access=registration}}</ref> Kars had been fortified to withstand a lengthy siege but, to the astonishment of all, was taken with little resistance by Turkish forces on 30 October 1920, in what some modern scholars have called one of the worst military fiascoes in Armenian history.<ref>Hovannisian. ''Republic of Armenia, Vol. IV'', pp.&nbsp;253–261.</ref> The terms of the [[Treaty of Alexandropol]], signed by the representatives of Armenia and Turkey on 2 December 1920, forced Armenia to give back all the Ottoman territories granted to it in the [[Treaty of Sèvres]].

After the [[Bolshevik]] advance into Armenia, the [[Treaty of Alexandropol]] was superseded by the [[Treaty of Kars]] (October 23, 1921), signed between Turkey and the [[Soviet Union]]. The treaty allowed for Soviet annexation of [[Adjara]] in exchange for Turkish control of the regions of [[Kars Province|Kars]], [[Iğdır Province|Igdir]], and [[Ardahan Province|Ardahan]]. The Treaty of Kars established peaceful relations between the two nations, but as early as 1939, some British diplomats noted{{citation needed|date=April 2014}} indications that the Soviet Union was not satisfied with the established border. The [[Treaty of Kars]], signed in 1921 by the [[Government of the Grand National Assembly]] and by the Soviet republics of [[Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic|Armenia]], [[Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic|Azerbaijan]] and [[Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic|Georgia]], established the current north-eastern boundaries of Turkey. The treaty included ''de jure'' provisions guaranteeing the Armenian residents right to relinquish Turkish nationality, leave the territory freely and take with them either their goods or the proceeds of their sale, but by some accounts formerly Armenian lands had ''de facto'' become state property as a consequence of the treaty.<ref>{{cite book|last=Morack|first=Ellinor|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UU5cDgAAQBAJ|title=The Dowry of the State?: The Politics of Abandoned Property and the Population Exchange in Turkey 1921-1945|date=2017-03-14|publisher=University if Bamberg Press|isbn=9783863094638|page=167}}</ref>

===After World War II===
[[File:Fethiye Mosque - Built as Barracks for Cossacks in Tribute to Alexander Nevsky - Kars - Russia - 01 (5814559997).jpg|thumb|250px| Fethiye Mosque, the former Russian military cathedral built in tribute to Alexander Nevsky]]
[[File:Kars, 36000 Kars Merkez-Kars, Turkey - panoramio (2).jpg|thumb|250px|The Gazi Ahmet Paşa Konağı, a traditional house in Kars built during the period the city was part of the Russian Empire]]
After World War II, the Soviet Union attempted to annul the Kars treaty and regain the Kars region and the adjoining region of Ardahan. On June 7, 1945, Soviet Foreign Minister [[Vyacheslav Molotov]] told the Turkish ambassador to Moscow [[Selim Sarper]] that the regions should be returned to the [[Soviet Union]], on behalf of the Georgian and Armenian republics. Turkey found itself in a difficult position: it wanted good relations with the Soviet Union, but at the same time they refused to give up the territories. Turkey itself was in no condition to fight a war with the Soviet Union, which had emerged as a superpower after the second world war. By the autumn of 1945, Soviet troops in the Caucasus were ordered to prepare for a possible invasion of Turkey. Prime Minister [[Winston Churchill]] objected to these territorial claims, while [[President of the United States|President]] [[Harry Truman]] initially felt that the matter should not concern other parties. With the onset of the [[Cold War]], however, the United States came to see Turkey as a useful ally against Soviet expansion and began to support it financially and militarily. By 1948 the [[Soviet Union]] dropped its claims to Kars and the other regions.<ref>Krikorian, Robert O. (2011), "Kars-Ardahan and Soviet Armenian Irredentism, 1945–1946," in ''Armenian Kars and Ani'', ed. [[Richard G. Hovannisian]]. Costa Mesa, CA: Mazda Publishers, pp.&nbsp;393–409.</ref>

=== Recent history ===
In April 1993, Turkey closed its Kars border crossing with Armenia, in a protest against the capture of the [[Kelbajar]] district of [[Azerbaijan]] by Armenian forces during the [[First Nagorno-Karabakh War]].<ref name="hrw">{{Cite book|last=Panico|first = Christopher|author2=Rone, Jemera|year = 1994|title = Bloodshed in the Caucasus: Escalation of the Armed Conflict in Nagorno Karabakh|publisher = Human Rights Watch/Helsinki Watch|isbn = 1-56432-142-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eDTuxhmqzSkC&pg=PA74|page=74|quote=Turkey cut all routes to Armenia in April 1993, after the Karabakh Armenian army - with alleged support from Russian and Armenian armies - seized Kelbajar province of Azerbaijan.}}</ref> Since then the land border between [[Armenia]] and [[Turkey]] has remained closed. In 2006, former Kars mayor Naif Alibeyoğlu said that opening the border would boost the local economy and reawaken the city.<ref>"Kars battles for access to Armenia and beyond", Turkish Daily News, July 30th 2006.</ref> Despite unsuccessful attempts to establish diplomatic relations between the two countries in 2009,<ref>{{Cite news|author=Staff|title=Turkey, Armenia to Reopen Border|date=11 October 2009|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB125518039736978131|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091012060227/http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125518039736978131.html|archive-date=12 October 2009|url-status=live}}</ref> there remained opposition and pressure from the local population against the re-opening of the border.<ref>{{Cite news|author=Mammadli, Sabuhi|title=Border Turks Want Door to Armenia Kept Shut|date=1 May 2009|newspaper=CRS Issue 491|publisher=Institute for War and Peace Reporting|url=http://iwpr.net/report-news/border-turks-want-door-armenia-kept-shut|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120923224553/http://iwpr.net/report-news/border-turks-want-door-armenia-kept-shut|archive-date=23 September 2012|url-status=live}} Note: archive not available until mid-2013.</ref> Under pressure from Azerbaijan, and the local population, including the 20% ethnic [[Azerbaijanis|Azerbaijani]] minority, the Turkish foreign minister [[Ahmet Davutoğlu]] reiterated in 2010 and 2011 that opening the border with [[Armenia]] was out of the question.<ref name="todayszaman">{{Cite news|title=Armenia border opening out of question, says Davutoğlu|newspaper=[[Today's Zaman]]|date=19 July 2010|url=http://www.todayszaman.com/news-216463-armenia-border-opening-out-of-question-says-davutoglu.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120923225545/http://www.todayszaman.com/news-216463-armenia-border-opening-out-of-question-says-davutoglu.html|archive-date=23 September 2012|url-status=dead}} Note: archive not available until mid-2013.</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/europe/2011/01/13/two-vast-and-ugly-blocks-of-stone |title=Two vast and ugly blocks of stone |newspaper=[[The Economist]]|date=13 January 2011}}</ref> {{As of|2014}}, the border remains closed.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Turkish, Armenian journalists want the border opened|newspaper=[[Today's Zaman]]|date=3 June 2012|url=http://www.todayszaman.com/newsDetail_getNewsById.action?newsId=282339|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120923230720/http://www.todayszaman.com/newsDetail_getNewsById.action?newsId=282339|archive-date=23 September 2012|url-status=dead}} Note: archive not available until mid-2013.</ref>

The last elected mayor of Kars was [[Ayhan Bilgen]] of the [[Peoples' Democratic Party (Turkey)|Peoples' Democratic Party]] (HDP), who was elected in 2019, and arrested and deposed in 2020. He was replaced by the governor of [[Kars Province]], Eyüp Tepe, as a government-appointed trustee.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=Turkish police detain dozens of HDP members, including Mayor Bilgen, over 2014 Kobane protests|url=https://www.duvarenglish.com/politics/2020/09/25/turkish-police-detain-dozens-of-hdp-members-including-mayor-bilgen-over-2014-kobane-protests/|access-date=2020-09-25|website=www.duvarenglish.com|language=en}}{{Dead link|date=April 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Ayhan Bilgen sacked by the ministry of Interior|url=https://www.milliyet.com.tr/gundem/son-dakika-icisleri-bakanligi-acikladi-kars-belediye-baskani-ayhan-bilgen-gorevden-alindi-6320077|date=2020-10-02|website=[[Milliyet]]|language=tr-TR|access-date=2020-10-02}}</ref><ref name="Daily Sabah">{{Cite web|url=https://www.dailysabah.com/politics/war-on-terror/trustee-replaces-kars-mayor-dismissed-in-pro-pkk-probe-targeting-2014-kobani-riots|title=Trustee replaces Kars mayor dismissed in pro-PKK probe targeting 2014 Kobani riots|website=[[Daily Sabah]]|date=2 October 2020 |access-date=2020-10-02|language=en}}</ref>

==Demographics==
According to Turkey's 2011 Statistical Yearbook, the area has been depopulating because of migration to bigger cities.<ref>{{Cite book|author=Turkish Statistical Institute|year=2011|chapter=The provinces with highest out-migration according to their net migration rate|title=Turkey in Statistics 2011 (The Summary of Turkey's Statistical Yearbook 2011)|page=15|chapter-url=http://www.tuik.gov.tr/IcerikGetir.do?istab_id=5&ei=95pfUOTmCamOiAL4kIGwBw&usg=AFQjCNFBHvLheqgo4Apb4qAdsneBRVUf1w|chapter-format=pdf}}</ref> In [[Istanbul]] alone, there are 269,388 people from Kars, more than three times the city's population.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sabah.com.tr/yasam/2014/01/29/istanbulun-nufus-bilgileri-aciklandi|title=İstanbul'un nüfus bilgileri açıklandı|website=Sabah}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://medya.zaman.com.tr/2008/07/20/istanbul2.jpg |title=Archived copy |access-date=2014-03-13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140313154018/http://medya.zaman.com.tr/2008/07/20/istanbul2.jpg |archive-date=2014-03-13 }}</ref>

Today, Kars has a mixed population of [[Azerbaijanis]], [[Kurds]] and [[Turkish people|Turks]].<ref name="todayszaman"/> Most of the population in Kars is [[Sunni Muslim]], mainly made up by the population of [[Kurds]] and [[Turkish people|Turks]], and the minority is [[Shia Muslim]], mainly among the [[Azerbaijanis]]. The Shia Azerbaijanis make up 20% of the city's population.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.economist.com/europe/2011/01/13/two-vast-and-ugly-blocks-of-stone |title=Two vast and ugly blocks of stone |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=13 January 2011 |newspaper=[[The Economist]] |access-date=29 January 2021 |quote=}}</ref> The Azerbaijanis are mainly composed of the [[Terekeme]] and [[Qarapapaqs|Qarapapaq]] sub-ethnic groups.<ref>{{in lang|ru}} [http://www.oval.ru/enc/1206.html Azeris]. ''[[Great Soviet Encyclopedia]]''</ref> 

{| class="wikitable"
! Year
! Total
! [[Turkish people|Turks]]
! [[Armenians]]
! Others
|-
| 1878<ref name="Mirzoyan">{{cite book|last1=Mirzoyan|first1=Sonya|last2=Badem|first2=Candan|title=The Construction of the Tiflis-Aleksandropol-Kars Railway (1895-1899)|date=2013|publisher=Institute for Historical Justice and Reconciliation|isbn=9789491145032|pages=7|quote=At the end of 1878, the indigenous population of the city of Kars included 2,835 Turks, 1,031 Armenians and. 378 Greeks.}}</ref> 
| 4,244
| 2,835 (66.8%)
| 1,031 (24.4%)
| 378 [[Caucasus Greeks]] (8.9%)
|-
| 1886<ref>Свод статистических данных о населении Закавказского края, извлечённых из посемейных списков 1886 года, г. Тифлис, 1893. Available online [http://www.ethno-kavkaz.narod.ru/rnturkey.html here]</ref>
| 3,939
| 841 (21.4%)
| 2,483 (63%)
| 322 [[Caucasus Greeks]] (8.2%), 247 [[Russians]] (6.3%)
|-
| 1897<ref name="1897 census">{{cite web|script-title=ru:Первая всеобщая перепись населения Российской Империи 1897 г. Распределение населения по родному языку и уездам Российской Империи кроме губерний Европейской России|url=http://demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/emp_lan_97_uezd.php?reg=403|publisher=Demoscope Weekly|access-date=8 April 2014|language=ru}}</ref>
| 20,805
| 786 (3.8%)
| 10,332 (49.7%)
| 5,478 [[Russians]] (26.3%), 1,084 [[Polish people|Poles]] (5.2%), 733 [[Caucasus Greeks]] (3.5%), 486 [[Tatars]] (2.3%)
|-
| 1916<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.prlib.ru/item/417322 |title=Кавказский календарь на 1917 год |publisher=Tipografiya kantselyarii Ye.I.V. na Kavkaze, kazenny dom |year=1917 |edition=72nd |publication-place=Tiflis |pages=198–201 |language=Russian |trans-title=Caucasian calendar for 1917 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104233151/https://www.prlib.ru/item/417322 |archive-date=4 November 2021}}</ref>
| 30,514
| 1,210 (3.9%)
| 25,665 (84.1%)
| 1,487 [[Russians]] (4.9%), 1,828 other Christians (5.9%), 298 other Muslims, 25 Jews
|-
| 1970<ref name="SAE"/>
| 54,000
|
|
|
|-
| 1990<ref>''The new encyclopædia Britannica'', Volume 6, p. 751</ref>
| 78,455
|
|
|
|-
| 2000<ref name="pop">{{cite web|title=Kars|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/312676/Kars|publisher=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140408060631/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/312676/Kars|archive-date=8 April 2014|quote=Pop. (2000) 78,473; (2013 est.) 78,100.}}</ref>
| 78,473
|
|
|
|-
| 2013<ref name="pop"/>
| 78,101
|
|
|
|-
|}

==Government==
[[File:Provincial Special Administration Building - Belle Epoque Russian Architecture (Former Church) - Kars - Turkey (5815125786).jpg|thumb|left| Provincial Special Administration Building in Kars]]

The present day ethnic make-up of Kars is also reflected in politics, with the Turks and [[Azerbaijanis]] often voting for the nationalist [[Nationalist Movement Party|MHP]] and the Kurds often voting for the pro-Kurdish [[Peoples' Democratic Party (Turkey)|HDP]]. On 30 March 2014, Murtaza Karaçanta ([[Nationalist Movement Party|MHP]]) was elected mayor. During the June 2015 elections, Kars was won by the pro-Kurdish [[Peoples' Democratic Party (Turkey)|HDP]], becoming the largest political party in both the city and the province of Kars. The last elected mayor was Ayhan Bilgen from the HDP until he was deposed in October 2020.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.sabah.com.tr/secim/31-mart-2019-yerel-secim-sonuclari/kars/ili-yerel-secim-sonuclari|title=Kars Seçim Sonuçları - 31 Mart 2019 Yerel Seçimleri|website=www.sabah.com.tr|access-date=2019-09-12}}</ref>

== Climate ==
Kars has a [[humid continental climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]]: ''Dfb, [[Trewartha climate classification|Trewartha]]: Dcb''). It experiences significant [[Seasonal temperature variation|seasonal]] and [[diurnal temperature variation]], due to its location away from large bodies of water, its high elevation and location, where the high plateau of [[Eastern Anatolia]] converges with the [[Lesser Caucasus]] mountain range.

Summers are generally brief and quite warm with cool nights. The average high temperature in August is {{convert|27|°C|°F|lk=on|abbr=on}}.

Winters are very cold. The average low January temperature is {{convert|-15|°C|°F|lk=on|abbr=on}}, and temperatures can plummet to {{convert|-30|C|F}} during the winter months. Kars experiences frequent and sometimes heavy snowfall, with four months of snow cover on average.{{Citation needed|date=May 2021}}

Highest recorded temperature:{{convert|37.1|°C|°F|lk=on|abbr=on}} on 24 August 2022<br>Lowestrecorded temperature:{{convert|-37.0|°C|°F|lk=on|abbr=on}} on 4 February 1947<ref>{{cite web
| url =https://www.mgm.gov.tr/veridegerlendirme/il-ve-ilceler-istatistik.aspx?k=A&m=KARS
| title = İllerimize Ait Genel İstatistik Verileri
| publisher = Turkish State Meteorological Service
| language = tr
| access-date = 23 August 2024}}</ref>

{{Weather box|location = Kars (1991–2020, extremes 1931–2023)
|metric first = yes
|single line = yes
|Jan record high C = 9.3
|Feb record high C = 12.0
|Mar record high C = 19.1
|Apr record high C = 25.0
|May record high C = 28.3
|Jun record high C = 33.9
|Jul record high C = 35.6
|Aug record high C = 37.1
|Sep record high C = 33.0
|Oct record high C = 26.8
|Nov record high C = 21.9
|Dec record high C = 15.9
|year record high C =
|Jan high C = -3.2
|Feb high C = -1.2
|Mar high C = 4.9
|Apr high C = 12.3
|May high C = 17.3
|Jun high C = 22.2
|Jul high C = 26.3
|Aug high C = 27.3
|Sep high C = 23.0
|Oct high C = 16.1
|Nov high C = 7.5
|Dec high C = -0.4
|year high C = 12.7
|Jan mean C = -9.4
|Feb mean C = -7.7
|Mar mean C = -1.0
|Apr mean C = 5.7
|May mean C = 10.4
|Jun mean C = 14.5
|Jul mean C = 17.9
|Aug mean C = 18.4
|Sep mean C = 14.1
|Oct mean C = 8.2
|Nov mean C = 0.6
|Dec mean C = -6.2
|year mean C = 5.5
|Jan low C = -14.8
|Feb low C = -13.4
|Mar low C = -6.3
|Apr low C = -0.2
|May low C = 4.3
|Jun low C = 7.4
|Jul low C = 10.5
|Aug low C = 10.7
|Sep low C = 6.1
|Oct low C = 1.5
|Nov low C = -4.8
|Dec low C = -11.2
|year low C = -0.8
|Jan record low C = -36.7
|Feb record low C = -37.0
|Mar record low C = -31.5
|Apr record low C = -22.6
|May record low C = -7.0
|Jun record low C = -4.0
|Jul record low C = 0.1
|Aug record low C = -1.9
|Sep record low C = -4.4
|Oct record low C = -17.5
|Nov record low C = -30.0
|Dec record low C = -35.0
|year record low C = -37.0
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 23.2
|Feb precipitation mm = 21.4
|Mar precipitation mm = 33.1
|Apr precipitation mm = 57.0
|May precipitation mm = 83.6
|Jun precipitation mm = 75.0
|Jul precipitation mm = 65.1
|Aug precipitation mm = 45.1
|Sep precipitation mm = 29.7
|Oct precipitation mm = 44.6
|Nov precipitation mm = 26.6
|Dec precipitation mm = 25.6
|year precipitation mm = 530.0
|Jan precipitation days = 9.97
|Feb precipitation days = 9.6
|Mar precipitation days = 11.23
|Apr precipitation days = 13.9
|May precipitation days = 18.93
|Jun precipitation days = 14.37
|Jul precipitation days = 11.13
|Aug precipitation days = 9.67
|Sep precipitation days = 7.07
|Oct precipitation days = 10.17
|Nov precipitation days = 8.43
|Dec precipitation days = 10.43
|year precipitation days = 134.9
|Jan humidity = 78.9
|Feb humidity = 77.6
|Mar humidity = 73.5
|Apr humidity = 67.3
|May humidity = 67.3
|Jun humidity = 65.3
|Jul humidity = 64.3
|Aug humidity = 60.1
|Sep humidity = 59.8
|Oct humidity = 67.8
|Nov humidity = 73.1
|Dec humidity = 78.9
|Jan sun = 105.4
|Feb sun = 132.8
|Mar sun = 167.4
|Apr sun = 183.0
|May sun = 226.3
|Jun sun = 276.0
|Jul sun = 316.2
|Aug sun = 310.0
|Sep sun = 249.0
|Oct sun = 192.2
|Nov sun = 147.0
|Dec sun = 102.3
|Jand sun = 3.4
|Febd sun = 4.7
|Mard sun = 5.4
|Aprd sun = 6.1
|Mayd sun = 7.3
|Jund sun = 9.2
|Juld sun = 10.2
|Augd sun = 10.0
|Sepd sun = 8.3
|Octd sun = 6.2
|Novd sun = 4.9
|Decd sun = 3.3
|yeard sun = 6.5
|source 1 = [[Turkish State Meteorological Service]]<ref>{{cite web
| url = https://www.mgm.gov.tr/veridegerlendirme/il-ve-ilceler-istatistik.aspx?k=H&m=KARS
| title = Resmi İstatistikler: İllerimize Ait Mevism Normalleri (1991–2020)
| publisher = Turkish State Meteorological Service
| language = tr
| access-date = 11 April 2021}}</ref>
|source 2 = [[NOAA]](humidity)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/data/oceans/archive/arc0216/0253808/4.4/data/0-data/Region-6-WMO-Normals-9120/Turkiye/CSV/Kars_17097.csv |title=WMO Climate Normals for 1991-2020: Kars-17097 |publisher=[[NOAA|National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] |format=CSV |access-date=23 August 2024}}</ref>
}}

== Sports ==
The town has a [[soccer|football]] club Kars S.K. [[Bandy]], a sport which does not exist in Turkey today, was once played here.<ref>{{cite news|last=Grigoryan|first=Aleksandr|script-title=ru:В хоккей играют настоящие армяне|url=http://noev-kovcheg.1gb.ru/article.asp?n=94&a=39|newspaper=Noev Kovcheg|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140408165930/http://noev-kovcheg.1gb.ru/article.asp?n=94&a=39|archive-date=8 April 2014|language=ru}}</ref>

== Education ==
Kars hosts the [[Kafkas University]], which was established in 1992.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.admissionglobal.com/university/kafkas-university-271.aspx|title=Kafkas University - Kafkas|website=www.admissionglobal.com|access-date=2017-11-03}}</ref>

== Transport ==
[[File:Kars_Airport.JPG|thumb|[[Kars Harakani Airport]]]]

Kars is served by a main highway from [[Erzurum]], and lesser roads run north to Ardahan and south to Igdir. The town has an airport ([[Kars Harakani Airport]]), with daily direct flights to Ankara and Istanbul. Kars is served by [[Kars Railway Station|a station]] on the [[Turkish Railways]] (TCDD) that links it to Erzurum. This line was originally laid when Kars was within the Russian Empire and connected the city to nearby [[Gyumri|Alexandropol]] and [[Tiflis]], with a wartime, narrow-gauge extension running to Erzurum. Turkey's border crossings with Armenia, including the rail link, the [[Kars-Gyumri-Tbilisi railway]], have regrettably been closed since April 1993. Turkey's border with [[Armenia]] was closed down after local Armenian forces occupied the [[Kalbajar District]] (adjacent to disputed [[Nagorno Karabakh]]) in Azerbaijan. (As of September 2018, Turkey maintains that the border will remain closed until Armenia ends its occupation).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-will-not-open-armenia-border-amid-karabakh-occupation-erdogan-136892|title=Turkey will not open Armenia border amid Karabakh occupation: Erdoğan - Turkey News|website=Hürriyet Daily News|date=15 September 2018 }}</ref> Construction on a new line, the [[Kars–Tbilisi–Baku railway]], intended to connect Turkey with [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] and [[Azerbaijan]], began in 2010. The line became operational on October 30, 2017.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://dnd.com.pk/btk-railway-track-becomes-operational-to-carry-chinese-goods-to-europe/134952 |title=Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway track becomes operational to carry Chinese goods to Europe |website=dnd.com.pk |date= 30 October 2017 |access-date=27 February 2018}}</ref> The line connects Kars to [[Akhalkalaki]] in Georgia, from where trains will continue to [[Tbilisi]], and [[Baku]] in [[Azerbaijan]].<ref>[[Railway Gazette International]] February 2009 p54 with map</ref>

==Places of interest==
===Kars Citadel===
[[File:Kars Citadel 002.jpg|thumb|Kars Citadel from the river]]

The [[Castle of Kars]] ({{langx|tr|Kars Kalesi}}), also known as the [[Citadel]], sits at the top a rocky hill overlooking Kars. Its walls date back to the [[Bagratuni dynasty|Bagratuni]] Armenian period (there is surviving masonry on the north side of the castle) but it probably took on its present form during the thirteenth century when Kars was ruled by the [[Zak'arid]] dynasty.

The walls bear crosses in several places, including a [[Khachkar]] with a building inscription in Armenian on the easternmost tower, so the much repeated statement that Kars castle was built by [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] [[Sultan]] [[Murad III]] during the war with [[Safavid Iran]], at the close of the sixteenth century, is inaccurate. However, Murad probably ordered the reconstruction of much of the city walls (they are similar to those that the Ottoman army constructed at [[Ardahan]]). During the eighteenth century, at the [[Battle of Kars (1745)]], a crushing defeat was inflicted upon the Ottoman army by the Persian conqueror, [[Nader Shah]], not far from the city of Kars.

By the nineteenth century the citadel had lost most of its defensive purpose and a series of outer fortresses and defensive works were constructed to encircle Kars – this new defensive system proved particularly notable during the [[Siege of Kars]] in 1855.

=== Other historical structures ===
[[File:20110419 Tas Kopru bridge Kars Turkey Panorama.jpg|thumb|The [[Stone Bridge (Kars)|Taşköprü]] (Stone Bridge, 1725), built over the [[Kars River]].]]
[[File:Kars Church Of The Apostles 2009.JPG|thumb|right|The Armenian [[Cathedral of Kars|Church of the Apostles]] housed a museum in the 1960s–70s and was converted to a mosque in 1993.<ref>{{cite news|title=Burası cami oldu, burada ayin olmaz|url=http://www.milliyet.com.tr/d/t.aspx?ID=879898|newspaper=Milliyet|date=2008-06-24|language=tr|quote=Vakıflar Genel Müdürlüğü, 1993 yılında kiliseyi Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı'na devretti. Böylece kilise, yıllar yine cami olarak kullanılmaya başlandı ve adı yine Kümbet Cami olarak değiştirildi.}}</ref> ]]
[[File:Belle Epoque Russian Architecture - Kars - Turkey - 02 (5815154996).jpg|thumb|Belle Epoque Russian Architecture]]
Below the castle is a mosque, formerly the Armenian church known as Surb Arak'elots, the [[Cathedral of Kars|Church of the Holy Apostles]]. Built in the 1930's, it has a [[tetraconch]] plan (a square with four semicircular apses) surmounted by a spherical dome on a cylindrical drum. On the exterior, the drum contains [[bas-relief]] depictions of twelve figures, usually interpreted as representing the [[Twelve Apostles]]. The dome has a conical roof. The church was converted to a mosque in 1579, and then converted into a Russian Orthodox church in the 1880s. The Russians built porches in front of the church's three entrances, and an elaborate clocktower (now demolished) next to the church. The church was used as a warehouse from the 1930s, and it housed a small museum from 1963 until the late 1970s. Then the building was left to itself for about two decades, until it was converted into a mosque in 1993. In the same district of Kars are two other ruined [[Armenian Churches|Armenian churches]]. A Russian church from the 1900s was converted to a mosque in the 1980s after serving as a school gymnasium.<ref>"[http://www.virtualani.org/karscathedral/index.htm THE CATHEDRAL OF KARS: Holy Apostles Church (Surb Arak'elots)]." VirtualANI. December 7, 2000.</ref>

The Grand Mosque of Kars is the largest historic mosque in the city. Built by the [[Seljuks]], it was restored by the [[Ottoman Turks|Ottomans]] in 1579.

The [[Stone Bridge (Kars)|Taşköprü]] (Stone Bridge) is a bridge over the [[Kars River]], built in 1725. Close to the bridge are three old bath-houses, none of them operating any longer.

As a settlement at the juncture of [[Culture of Turkey|Turkish]], [[Culture of Armenia|Armenian]], [[Culture of Georgia (country)|Georgian]], [[Kurdish culture|Kurdish]] and [[Culture of Russia|Russian]] cultures, the buildings of Kars come in a variety of architectural styles. Most Russian-era buildings in Kars are identical in architectural style to those of Gyumri in Armenia. [[Orhan Pamuk]] in the novel ''[[Snow (Pamuk novel)|Snow]]'', set in Kars, makes repeated references to "the Russian houses", built "in a [[Balts|Baltic]] style",<ref>[https://iainakerman.com/2014/11/27/searching-for-kars/ Orhan pamuk and the city of Kars] Retrieved 20 August 2023.</ref> whose like cannot be seen anywhere else in Turkey, and deplores the deteriorating condition of these houses.
* The Mansion of Ahmet Tevfik Pasha (''Ahmet Tevfik Paşa Konağı'')
* The [[Stone Bridge (Kars)|Stone Bridge]] (''Taşköprü'')
* The Topchuoglu Bath House (''Topçuoğlu Hamamı'')
* The Ilbeoglu Bath House (''İlbeyoğlu Hamamı'')
* The Mazlumaga Bath House (''Mazlumağa Hamamı'')
* The House of Namık Kemal (''Namık Kemal Evi'')
* Kars Museum (''Kars Müzesi'')
* The Palace of Beylerbeyi (''Beylerbeyi Sarayı'')
* The Mansion of Pasha (''Paşa Konağı'')
* The Cemetery of Arap Baba (''Arap Baba Şehitliği'')
* The Mosque of Yusuf Pasha (''Yusuf Paşa Camii'')
* The Mosque of Evliya (''Evliya Camii'')
* The Tomb of Ebul Hasan-i Harakani (''Ebul Hasan-i Harakani Türbesi'')
* The Mosque of Fethiye (''Fethiye Camii'')
* The Mansion of Gazi [[Ahmed Muhtar Pasha|Ahmet Muhtar Pasha]] (''Gazi Ahmet Paşa Konağı'')

[[File:Insanlık anıtı - panoramio.jpg|thumb|Monument of Humanity in Kars demolished on R. T. Erdogan's directive in 2011.]]

==International relations==
{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Turkey}}

===Twin towns – Sister cities===
The municipality of Kars has developed sister city relationships with following cities at home and abroad:<ref>{{cite web|title=Kars Belediyesi'nin çalışmaları|url=http://www.siyasalbirikim.com.tr/haber.php?haber_id=373|publisher=Siyasal Birikim|access-date=8 April 2014|language=tr|date=8 October 2007|quote=68- KARDEŞ ŞEHİR: |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140408222845/http://www.siyasalbirikim.com.tr/haber.php?haber_id=373|archive-date=8 April 2014}}</ref>
{|class="wikitable"
|- valign="top"
|
* {{flagicon|TUR}} [[Bursa]], [[Turkey]]
* {{flagicon|TUR}} [[Edirne]], [[Turkey]]
* {{flagicon|AZE}} [[Ganja, Azerbaijan|Ganja]], [[Azerbaijan]]<ref name="Azerbaijan twinnings">{{cite web|url=http://www.azerbaijans.com/content_1719_en.html|title=Twin-cities of Azerbaijan|access-date=2013-08-09|work=Azerbaijans.com}}</ref>
||
* {{flagicon|GEO (country)}} [[Kutaisi]], [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]]
* {{flagicon|NOR}} [[Kirkenes]], [[Norway]]
* {{flagicon|GER}} [[Wesel]], [[Germany]]
|}

==In popular culture==
* Kars is the setting of the 2002 novel ''[[Snow (Pamuk novel)|Snow]]'' ({{Lang|tr|Kar}} in Turkish) by [[Orhan Pamuk]].
* {{Transliteration|hy|Yerkir Nairi}}, a novel by [[Yeghishe Charents]], is dedicated to the public figures and places of Kars, the author's hometown
* [[Modest Mussorgsky]] composed the march "The Capture of Kars" to commemorate Russia's victory there in 1855.
* The film ''[[Cosmos (2010 film)|Cosmos]]'' by [[Reha Erdem]] was filmed in and around Kars.
* In 1857 the settlement of Wellington in [[Ontario]], Canada, renamed itself [[Kars, Ontario|Kars]] in honor of the Canadian-born [[Fenwick Williams|General William Fenwick Williams]], who organized the defense of Kars during its [[Siege of Kars|1855 siege]].

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Sources==
*{{cite book |title=The Mongols and the Armenians (1220-1335) |first=Bayarsaikhan |last=Dashdondog |publisher=Brill |year=2011 }}
*{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=The Encyclopaedia of Islam |title=Kars |publisher=Brill |year=1997 |editor-first1=E. |editor-last1=Van Donzel |editor-first2=B. |editor-last2=Lewis |editor-first3=CH. |editor-last3=Pellat |first1=W. |last1=Barthold |first2=C.J. |last2=Heywood |pages=669–671}}
* {{cite book|last1=Lordkipanidze|first1=Mariam Davydovna|last2=Hewitt|first2=George B.|year=1987|title=Georgia in the XI–XII Centuries|location=Tbilisi|publisher=Ganatleba Publishers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8hYdAAAAMAAJ}}
*{{cite book |title=Edge of Empires: A History of Georgia |first=Donald |last=Rayfield |publisher=Reaktion books |year=2013 }}

==Further reading==
* {{cite journal |last1=Gurallar |first1=Neşe |title=Russian Modernization in East Anatolia: The Case of Kars |journal=Muqarnas Online |date=2020 |volume=37 |issue=1 |pages=247–264 |doi=10.1163/22118993-00371P09|s2cid=228969076 |doi-access=free  | issn=0732-2992}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Kars}}
{{Wikivoyage|Kars}}
* [http://www.kars.gov.tr/ Kars Governor's Office]

{{Kars District}}
{{Historic capitals of Armenia}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Kars| ]]
[[Category:Former Armenian communities in Turkey]]
[[Category:Former capitals of Armenia]]
[[Category:Kars District]]
[[Category:Provincial municipalities in Turkey]]