Kirkop
Encyclopedia
Ħal Kirkop is a small village
in the south of Malta
. It is found near the Malta International Airport
and this settlement has a rich history, that of even Punic times. The parish church is dedicated to St. Leonard. Apart from the feast of St. Leonard, a secondary big feast of St. Joseph is celebrated in summer. Kirkop United is the village football team currently playing in Division 2 (promoted on 1 May 2011 from Division 3) of the Malta Football Association Competitions.
In 1969 the anthropologist Jeremy Boissevain
published his research on the social fabric of this village in his book Hal Farrug: a village in Malta. The book was republished in 1980 and re-issued under a new title, Ħal Kirkop: A village in Malta, in 2006. In his book, Boissevain identified Ħal Kirkop people whose families had lived in the area for centuries as having the most striking traces of the ancient Phoenician bloodline. The Phoenicians were ancient marauders who had occupied the Maltese islands around 700 B.C. Punic remains of catacombs are dotted all around the village, and most of them remain undiscovered, but plans state that they will be explored in the future. Kirkop was part of a larger community called 'Bir Miftuh' in Middle Ages when on the 29th May, 1592 it was declared a parish on its own right
It is home of the STMicroelectronics
plant, whose production accounts for 60% of the exports in Malta.
A cross placed on column is found in Kirkop Square and it is called 'Is-Salib tad-Dejma' in Maltese. There is also a quite interesting collection of niches scattered around the village.
ory
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
in the south of Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
. It is found near the Malta International Airport
Malta International Airport
Malta International Airport is the only airport in Malta and it serves the whole Maltese Archipelago. It is located between Luqa and Gudja. It occupies the location of the former RAF Luqa and was completely re-furbished, becoming fully operational on 25 March 1992...
and this settlement has a rich history, that of even Punic times. The parish church is dedicated to St. Leonard. Apart from the feast of St. Leonard, a secondary big feast of St. Joseph is celebrated in summer. Kirkop United is the village football team currently playing in Division 2 (promoted on 1 May 2011 from Division 3) of the Malta Football Association Competitions.
In 1969 the anthropologist Jeremy Boissevain
Jeremy Boissevain
Jeremy Boissevain is Emeritus Professor of Social Anthropology at the Amsterdam School for Social Science Research .-Academic background:...
published his research on the social fabric of this village in his book Hal Farrug: a village in Malta. The book was republished in 1980 and re-issued under a new title, Ħal Kirkop: A village in Malta, in 2006. In his book, Boissevain identified Ħal Kirkop people whose families had lived in the area for centuries as having the most striking traces of the ancient Phoenician bloodline. The Phoenicians were ancient marauders who had occupied the Maltese islands around 700 B.C. Punic remains of catacombs are dotted all around the village, and most of them remain undiscovered, but plans state that they will be explored in the future. Kirkop was part of a larger community called 'Bir Miftuh' in Middle Ages when on the 29th May, 1592 it was declared a parish on its own right
It is home of the STMicroelectronics
STMicroelectronics
STMicroelectronics is an Italian-French electronics and semiconductor manufacturer headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.While STMicroelectronics corporate headquarters and the headquarters for EMEA region are based in Geneva, the holding company, STMicroelectronics N.V. is registered in Amsterdam,...
plant, whose production accounts for 60% of the exports in Malta.
History and Population growth
The name of the village is derived from an ancient family name that had roots within the area. The village name was known as 'Casal Prokopju' and this name is found in old registers of the militia that existed prior to the coming of the Knights of Malta. It is traditionally known that the name described the place where this family lived. After a while the official name became 'Kirkop' by the local people. Kirkop has been a village before the 1000s and a parish before the 1600s. Punic remains of catacombs are dotted all around the village, and most of them remain undiscovered, but plans state that they will be explored in the future. It has a population of 2,186 people (Dec 2008) but it is expanding rapidly to reach 3000 by year 2010.Places of Interest
In Kirkop, one finds the Menhira monolith that has become the symbol of the village, Paleo-Christian Catacombs, the medieval Church of the Annunciation, the Parish Church dedicated to St. Leonard, two band Clubs, St Joseph Band Club, St.Leonard Band Club and the cemetery inside which there is a Chapel dedicated to St. Nicholas.A cross placed on column is found in Kirkop Square and it is called 'Is-Salib tad-Dejma' in Maltese. There is also a quite interesting collection of niches scattered around the village.
Ħal Kirkop main roads
- Triq Ħal Safi (Safi Road)
- Triq il-Belt Valletta (Valletta Road)
- Triq il-Lewżiet (Almonds Street)
- Triq ir-Ramlija (Sandy Street)
- Triq It-Tielet Waqgha (Third Fall Road)
- Triq l-Industrija (Industry Street)
- Triq San Benedittu (St Benedict Street)
- Triq l-Gharaq tad-Demm (Bloody Sweat Street)
- Triq San Ġwann (St John Street)
- Triq San Nikola (St. Nicholas Street)
- Triq Santu Rokku (St Rocco Street)
- Triq Taż-Żebbiegħ (Taz-Zebbiegh Road)
Band clubs
- St Leonard's Band Club (L-Għaqda Mużikali San Leonardu)
- St Joseph Band Club (L-Għaqda Mużikali San Ġużepp) St.Joseph Band Club, Ħal Kirkop
Zones in Ħal Kirkop
- Bonu ż-Żgħir
- Il-Għadir (The Lake)
- Menħir Estate (Menhir Estate)
- Tal-Aħfar
- Tal-Ibliq
- Tal-Fieres
- Tar-Robba
- Tas-Sienja
External links
ory