BURSA - HISTORY
 

Prusa was the first name of the city that was established in the 3rd century BC by the Bithynias and Prusias. The certain proofs of the first settling near the city center dates  back to 2700 - 2500 BC. Traks, Thins and Bitins who escaped from Trakya from the attacks of Ibkit settled down in this region. Therefore, the written sources refer to this region as Bitinya. Our city that was conquered by Turks in 1326 by Orhan Bey and once was the capital city of the Ottoman Empire.

There is no building left from Roman and Byzantium periods in Bursa. It has been thought that the city walls surrounding the old city were first built by the Bithynias and then restored and used during theRoman, Byzantium and Ottoman periods. Bursa is an active commerce city, which showed greater development than the other cities in the first 200 years of the Ottoman Empire. During that period many buildings of architectural value were built, and it became the center of well-known medresses and science. Külliye ( complex of buildings adjacent to a mosque) of Hüdavendigar of which the construction started during the reign of Murat I, Külliye of Yıldırım built by Beyazıd I, Yeşil (Green) Külliye that was started during the reign of Mehmet I (Çelebi) and completed during the reign of Murat II are great complexes that still exist today have affected the enlargement of Bursa. City planning gained importance after Turkey became a Republic. Consequently after 1960s the population increased rapidly and the city became more urbanized. This caused historical, cultural and natural values to diminish. Its geographical location and high agricultural, commercial and industrial potential provide the city to keep its attractiveness in every period.