Żurrieq
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Żurrieq Iż-Żurrieq Zurrico |
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| Local council | |||
St Catherine of Alexadria Parish Church, as viewed from Mattia Preti Square
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| Motto: Sic a cyaneo aequore vocor Mill-Baħar iżraq ismi (From the Blue Sea my Name) |
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| Coordinates: 35°49′45″N 14°28′33″E / 35.82917°N 14.47583°ECoordinates: 35°49′45″N 14°28′33″E / 35.82917°N 14.47583°E | |||
| Country |
 Malta
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| Region | Southern Region | ||
| District | South Eastern District | ||
| Borders | Birżebbuġa, Kirkop, Luqa, Mqabba, Qrendi, Safi | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Natius Ola Farrugia (PL) | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 10.5 km2 (4.1 sq mi) | ||
| Population (March 2014) | |||
| • Total | 11,823 | ||
| • Density | 1,100/km2 (2,900/sq mi) | ||
| Demonym(s) | Żurrieqi (m), Żurrieqija (f), Żrieraq (pl) | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Postal code | ZRQ | ||
| Dialing code | 356 | ||
| ISO 3166 code | MT-68 | ||
| Patron saint | St. Catherine of Alexandria | ||
| Day of festa | 1st Sunday of September | ||
| Website | Official website | ||
Żurrieq (Maltese: Iż-Żurrieq) is a town in the Southern Region of Malta. It is one of the oldest towns in the country, and it has a population of 11,823 inhabitants as of March 2014. The first documentation about it being a parish dates back to 1436 dedicated to St. Catherine of Alexandria. The island of Filfla is administratively a part of the town. The town stretches from In Nigret to Ħal Far respectively in old times the town was a border with Żejtun. There were small villages part of Żurrieq including Qrendi, Birżebbuġa, Ħal Millieri, Ħal Lew, Ħal Manin, Bubaqra, Tal-Baqqari, Ħal Far, Hlantun, Ħal Niklusi, Ħas Sejjih, Ħal Qadim, Ħal Arrig, Ħal Ġawhar, Ħal Ghabdirzaq.
Żurrieq is part of the Fifth political District and votes for the local council every three years. The council is made up of nine members, one of them is the Mayor of the town. The present Mayor of Żurrieq is Ignatius Farrugia. The parish Arch-priest being Rev. Charles Attard, helped by Rev. Raymond Cassar, Rev. Glenn Buhagiar, Rev. Carmel Busuttil and Rev. Nazzareno Tonna and Decon Luke Seguna.
The Village of Żurrieq claims for a large area of the South Eastern part of the Island of Malta, in which village we find a wide collection going back to the Bronze and Punic times, through the Roman, Knights and British eras. The village in itself is to a large extent adorned with houses and buildings of historical value dating to the 15th and 16th centuries.
We find the first historical reference of this village back in 1400. The villages of Hal Lew, Hal Millieri, Hal Manin, Bubaqra, Hal Far, Nigret and Qrendi used to make part of the village itself, until in 1618 the village of Qrendi became a village of its own while the others dissolved in a natural way with their area now making an integral part of the village perimeter.
Numerous ruins and remaining structures indicate the flow of the village through the time. These indicate the various settlements of peoples that inhabited the village area, from the Phoenicians to the Carathaginians, Greeks to the Romans. The remains found indicate these peoples as ancestors to the village, yet without excluding the possibility of other peoples, this village is rich in ruins and remains which in future may shed new light on its ancestors. Proof of this may be seen namely in remains such as the Punic Tower, Xarolla Catacombs, Cart Ruts at 'Tal-Bakkari', 'Tal-Hlantun Tower' and many others.
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Wikipedia