Kars

Kars
Կարս
Qers
Clockwise from top: View of Kars city centre, Castle of Kars, Panoramic view of Kars Topçuoğlu Hamam and Taşköprü, Cathedral of Kars
Kars
Location in Turkey
Coordinates: 40°36′28″N 43°05′45″E / 40.60778°N 43.09583°E / 40.60778; 43.09583
CountryTurkey
ProvinceKars
DistrictKars
Government
  MayorÖtüken Senger (MHP)
Elevation
1,768 m (5,801 ft)
Population
 (2022)
91,450
Time zoneUTC+3 (TRT)
Postal code
36000
Area code0474
Websitewww.kars.bel.tr

Kars (Armenian: Կարս or Ղարս; Azerbaijani: Qars; Kurdish: Qers) is a city in northeast Turkey. It is the seat of Kars Province and Kars District. As of 2022, its population was 91,450. Kars, in classical historiography (Strabo), was in the ancient region known as Chorzene (Greek: Χορζηνή), part of the province of Ayrarat in the Kingdom of Armenia, and later the capital of the Bagratid Kingdom of Armenia from 929 to 961. Currently, the mayor of Kars is Ötüken Senger. The city had an Armenian ethnic majority until it was re-captured by Turkish nationalist forces in late 1920.