Zonguldak, Black Sea Region, Türkiye

🇹🇷 Zonguldak is a city and the capital of Zonguldak Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. It was established in 1849 as a port town for the nearby coal mines in Ereğli and the coal trade remains its main economic activity.

Etymology There are several different theories concerning the origin of the city's name: • That it comes from Zone Geul-Dagh, the name given to the area by French and Belgian mining companies from French "zone" and a French spelling of Turkish Göldağı ('Lake Mountain'), the highest mountain in the vicinity of the Devrek district. • That the name came from Turkish zongalık which means "swamp", or zongura. • That the name may derive from the name of the nearby ancient settlement of Sandaraca or Sandarake (in Ancient Greek Σανδαράκη). • That the name may have come from "jungle" (which the French entrepreneurs called the area due to its uneven wooded geography) plus Turkish dağ 'mountain'.

In a 1920 report, the British Foreign Office spelled Zonguldak Zunguldak.

History The port city of Zonguldak suffered a heavy bombardment by the Russians during World War I, according to the caption of a Lubok popular print.

As of 1920, the port was under the control of the Heraclea Coal Company. The northern part of the bay featured a man-made harbor, for steamship use. At that time, they had two cranes which distributed coal to exporting vessels.

Health It was determined that coal-related lung diseases are more common than normal. During the quarantine period in Turkey, Zonguldak was also quarantined in addition to the metropolitan cities.

Economy Jobs in coal in Turkey are being lost and in 2020 the EBRD proposed a just transition. The city is the terminus of a railway line to Irmak, with the terminating station Zonguldak Railway Station built in 1937.

Transport The city is the terminus of a railway line to Irmak, with the terminating station Zonguldak Railway Station built in 1937.