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Kirkop

Coordinates:35°50′31″N14°29′6″E/ 35.84194°N 14.48500°E/35.84194; 14.48500
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Kirkop
Ħal Kirkop
Parish Church of St Leonard
Parish Church of St Leonard
Flag of Kirkop
Coat of arms of Kirkop
Motto:
Parva non iners
Coordinates:35°50′31″N14°29′6″E/ 35.84194°N 14.48500°E/35.84194; 14.48500
CountryMalta
RegionSouthern Region
DistrictSouth Eastern District
BordersLuqa,Mqabba,Safi,Żurrieq
Government
MayorMatthew Agius Zammit (PL)
Area
• Total1.1 km2(0.4 sq mi)
Population
(Jan. 2019)
• Total2,397
• Density2,200/km2(5,600/sq mi)
Demonym(s)Koppi (m), Koppija (f), Koppin (pl)
Time zoneUTC+1(CET)
• Summer (DST)UTC+2(CEST)
Postal code
KKP
Dialing code356
ISO 3166 codeMT-23
Patron saintSaint Leonard
Saint Joseph
Day of festa3rd Sunday of August
2nd Sunday of July

Kirkop(Maltese:Ħal Kirkop) is avillagein theSouthern RegionofMalta.Located near theMalta International Airport,it has been inhabited sincepre-history.The parish church is dedicated toSaint Leonard.Thefootballteam of the village is theKirkop United Football Club.

Etymology and population

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The Annunciation Church

The original name of the village wasCasal Prokopju,and is retrieved from the registers of the Maltese militia that existed prior to the rule of theOrder of St. John.Through generations, the local population corrupted the original name, which was changed toKirkop.

The name of the village comes from the surname of a rich family

History

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Punic remains of catacombs are found around the village of Ħal Kirkop with some of them remain unexplored, and their exploration has been shelved.

In 1969, anthropologistJeremy Boissevainpublished a research on the social fabric of the village in his bookHal Farrug: a village in Malta.Boissevain claims that the people of Ħal Kirkop have lived in the area for centuries because of his assumed comparable bloodline with ancient Phoenician. The Phoenicians occupied the Maltese islands around 700 B.C..

Ħal Kirkop was part of a larger community, as part of theparish of Bir Miftuħ,in the Middle Ages until the Early Modern period. However on 29 May 1592, it was declared a parish on its own right.

The village had a population of 2,260 people in March 2011.[1]By March 2014 this had decreased slightly to 2,191 people.[2]In 2021, the population was recorded at 2,527.[3]

Places, buildings and structures

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In Ħal Kirkop, one finds the Menhir monolith,[4]which has become the symbol of the village, and a number of Paleo-Christian Catacombs.

Other notoriousbuildings and structures are listed monumentswhich include; the Church of the Annunciation, the Parish Church of St. Leonard, the Chapel St. Nicholas at the cemetery, a cross column (Is-Salib tad-Dejma), and a number of niches scattered around the village.[5]There are two WWII shelters below street level.[6]

There are two band clubs, the St. Leonard Band Club and the St. Joseph Band Club, which are used as recreation.

Ħal Kirkop is home to anSTMicroelectronicsplant, whose production accounts for 60% ofnational exports.

Kirkop main roads

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  • 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

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  • St Leonard's Band Club (L-Għaqda Mużikali San Leonardu)
  • St Joseph Band Club (Soċjetà Mużikali San Ġużepp Ħal Kirkop)

Zones in Ħal Kirkop

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  • Bonu ż-Żgħir
  • Il-Għadir (The Lake)
  • Menħir Estate (Menhir Estate)
  • Tal-Aħfar
  • Tal-Ibliq
  • Tal-Fieres
  • Tar-Robba
  • Tas-Sienja

Twin village

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References

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  1. ^"Population statistics"(PDF).Malta Government Gazette.mjha.gov.mt. 9 August 2011. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 4 August 2013.Retrieved27 March2012.
  2. ^"Estimated Population by Locality 31st March, 2014".Government of Malta.16 May 2014. Archived fromthe originalon 21 June 2015.
  3. ^https://nso.gov.mt/wp-content/uploads/Census-of-Population-2021-volume1-final.pdf[bare URL PDF]
  4. ^Sagona, Claudia (2015).The Archaeology of Malta.Cambridge University Press. p. 311.ISBN9781107006690.
  5. ^"Superintendence of Cultural Property".National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands.27 September 2013. Archived fromthe originalon 13 February 2017.
  6. ^"Farrugia, C.J. (2004). Intietef mill-ħajja tal-Koppin marbuta ta' żminijiet ta' gwerra. Festa San Ġuzepp, Kirkop, 2004, 72-73"(PDF).{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal=(help)
  7. ^Site Officiel de la Mairie de Rousset sur Arc
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