Ħaż-Żabbar
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Żabbar Ħaż-Żabbar Città Hompesch, Casal Zabbar |
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| City and Local council | |||
Sanctuary Street, leading to the Żabbar Parish Church
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| Coordinates: 35°52′38″N 14°32′17″E / 35.87722°N 14.53806°ECoordinates: 35°52′38″N 14°32′17″E / 35.87722°N 14.53806°E | |||
| Country |
 Malta
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| Region | South Eastern Region | ||
| District | Southern Harbour District | ||
| Borders | Birgu, Cospicua, Fgura, Kalkara, Marsaskala, Xgħajra, Żejtun | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Quinton Scerri (PL) | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 5.3 km2 (2.0 sq mi) | ||
| Population (March 2014) | |||
| • Total | 15,404 | ||
| • Density | 2,900/km2 (7,500/sq mi) | ||
| Demonym(s) | Żabbari (m), Żabbarija (f), Żabbarin (pl) | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Postal code | ZBR | ||
| Dialing code | 356 | ||
| ISO 3166 code | MT-64 | ||
| Patron saint | Our Lady of Graces | ||
| Day of festa | Sunday after 8 September | ||
| Website | Official website | ||
Żabbar (Maltese: Ħaż-Żabbar, [ħɐzˈzɐbbɐr]), also known as Città Hompesch, is a city in the South Eastern Region of Malta. It is the sixth largest city in the country, with a population of 15,404 as of March 2014. Originally a part of Żejtun, Żabbar was granted the title of Città Hompesch by the last of the Grand Masters of the Order of St. John to reign in Malta, Ferdinand von Hompesch zu Bolheim.
The name of the city probably derives from the Maltese word tiżbor, the process of pruning trees. Indeed, a number of families who specialised in pruning, żbir, are known to have lived in the vicinity of this village during the Middle Ages. Other possibilities of this derivation exist. Żabbar was also the surname of an important family that was known to have lived in the area. Ħaż-Żabbar could also have been a corruption of Ħas-Sabbar (the consoler village), because people from all over the island used to visit the village to pray to Our Lady of Graces for consolation.
The word sabbar could also be the plural of sabbara (the Aloe vera plant) in Maltese. This would be derived from the Arabic صَبّار (ṣabbār) meaning cacti. In fact, in some Arab countries ṣabbār means prickly pear. The "ṣ" in this case, is strong and is pronounced as "z". Judging by the names of other Maltese villages, like nearby Żejtun (meaning "olive" in Arabic) it seems quite probable that such names may have agricultural connotations.
Ħaż-Żabbar is bound to the north by Kalkara and Xgħajra, to the west by Fgura and the Cottonera Lines (enclosing the localities of Vittoriosa and Cospicua), to the east by Marsaskala and to the south by Żejtun. Ħaż-Żabbar has the largest population of all localities within the area. The western part of this town, composed essentially of Il-Biccieni and Tal-Bajjada (also known as Il-Misrah) areas, is characterized by high dwelling density and comprises a series of winding streets that define the village core.
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Wikipedia