Climate : Temperate
OldName : Ersas، Ersasiya، Rajiya، Ardepa
Area : 15549
Population : 1201565
The
Qazvin Province is one of the 31 provinces of
Iran. It is in the north-west of the country, and its center is the city of
Qazvin. The province was created in 1993 out of part of
Tehran Province and includes 20 cities:
Qazvin,
...see more Takestan, Abyek, Buin-Zahra, Eqhbalieh, Mohammadieh, Alvand, Esfarvarin, Mahmood Abad Nemooneh, Khoram Dasht, Ziä Abad, Avaj, Shäl, Danesfahan, Abgarm, Ardägh, Moallem Keläyeh, Razmian Kouhin and Bidestan in the form of four townships (chief cities) contains 18 sections, 44 rural districts, and 1543 villages.
The province had a population of 1.14 million people by the 2006 census.
The province covers 15821 km². The climate of the province in the northern parts is cold and snowy in winters and temperate in summers. In the southern parts the climate is mild with comparatively cold winters and warm summers.
Qazvin was the location of a former capital of the Persian Empire and contains over 2000 architectural and archeological sites.
Archeological findings in the Qazvin plain reveal the existence of urban agricultural settlements as far back as 7000 BC. The name “Qazvin” or “Kasbin” is derived from Cas, an ancient tribe that lived south of the Caspian Sea millennia ago.
The Caspian Sea itself in fact derives its name from the same origin. Qazvin geographically connects Tehran, Isfahan, and the Persian Gulf to the Caspian seacoast and Asia Minor, hence its strategic location throughout the ages.
Qazvin contains several archeological excavations dating back 9000 years ago. There are also 23 castles from the Ismaili Assassins nearby as well. And in the middle of the city, there lies the ruins of Meimoon Ghal'eh, one of several Sassanid edifices in the area.
Qazvin contains few buildings from the Safavi era when it was capital of Persia. Perhaps the most famous of the surviving edifices is the Ali Qapu mansion, today a museum in central Qazvin.
After Islam, the abundant attendance of mystics (ascetics), as well as the prevalence of tradition (Hadith), religious jurisprudence (Fegh´h), and philosophy in Qazvin, led to the emergence of many mosques and religious schools.
Qazvin actually contains three buildings built by the Russians in the late 19th/early 20th century. Among these is the current Mayor's office (former Ballet Hall), a water reservoir, and the Cantor Church where a Russian pilot is buried.
According to explorers Pietro Della Valle, Jean Baptist Tavenier, Johannes Chardin, and others, there have been many Christians of various sects living in Qazvin for centuries.
Qazvin is the location of the Saint Hripsime church, and it is also where four Jewish prophets gave tidings of the arrival of Jesus Christ. Their tomb is now a popular shrine called Peighambariyeh.
Also there are many castles and fortifications leftover mostly from the Isma'ili movement of the Middle Ages.
In the old days, Qazvin was nicknamed the 'city of water reservoirs'. Of the 100 or so water reservoirs of Qazvin, only 10 remain today, all protected by the Provincial Cultural Heritage Organization.
In recent decades, Qazvin has become a developing pole of the country, primarily due to its preferable location. Qazvin today is a center of textile trade, including cotton, silk and velvet, in addition to leather.
It is on the railroad line and the highway between Tehran and Tabriz.
Qazvin has one of the largest power plants feeding electricity into Iran's national power grid, the Shahid Raja'i facility, which provides 7% of the country's electricity.
Reference: wikipedia.org
