Tarxien (Maltese: Ħal Tarxien) is a town in the Port region of Malta, seat of the Port Regional Council.[1] Its population stood at 8583 in March 2014.[2]
The etymology of the village may be a corruption of Tirix, meaning a large stone, similar to those used for the village's noted temples.[4] The village motto is Tyrii Genure Coloni ("The Phoenicians created me").
Demographicsedit
Tarxien's population stood at 7,724 villagers in December 2008, which increased to 8,583 by March 2014.[2] When the summer comes, the heat drives most of the citizens of Ħal Tarxien to the seaside villages of Malta, often bringing down the population of the village to about two-thirds of what it is during the colder months.
The oldest temple here is said to date back to about 3600 BCE. The temples feature various statues and reliefs of animals, including goats (for which Malta is noted) and pigs. Most notable of the statues found in the Temples are about 2.5 m in height, and are said to represent a sort of Mother Goddess. There are several of these statues scattered around the various temples, and are thought to represent fertility. There was also one of three small baked clay figurines in the form of what is said to be a priest that was found here.
Churchesedit
The parish church of Ħal Tarxien is dedicated to the Annunciation of Our Lady, hence the Tarxinizi (the people of Ħal Tarxien) consider the Blessed Virgin Mary, particularly at Her Annunciation as the Patron and Protector of their town and its whole population. The church was elevated to the status of parish in 1592, making it one of the oldest parishes of Malta. A key part of Ħal Tarxien culture is the feast of the Annunciation, whose feast is celebrated in late May or first Sunday of June. It is celebrated with religious celebrations and liturgical services at the parish church, and publicly with street decorations, band marches in the village streets and large aerial and ground firework displays.
A street in Tarxien
The second largest church in town is dedicated to the Resurrection of Christ better known by the locals as "Ta' l-Erwieħ" (Maltese pronunciation:[tɐ.lɛrˈwɪːħ]). The word means "of the souls" and it is used due to the old cemetery that surrounds the church. This church is right next to the renowned Tarxien Neolithic Temples and is visited by many tourists as many of the prehistoric remains were also found in the mentioned cemetery.
There are two other small chapels in Ħal Tarxien. These are dedicated to St. Bartholomew and St. Mary respectively.
There is also another chapel which is housed in the convent of the Sisters of Charity. This is dedicated to 'Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception'. The same congregation have a school.
There is also another church dedicated to St. Nicholas of Tolentino and a convent which belongs to the Augustinian Friars.
Local Counciledit
The Ħal Tarxien local council members are:
Joseph Abela Galea (Mayor, PL)
Darlene Vella (Vice Mayor, PL)
Christian Pace (PL)
Neil Portelli (PL)
Tommy Debattista (PL)
Anabelle Marmara (PN)
Ismael Dalli (PN)
Band clubsedit
There are two band clubs in Ħal Tarxien. These are the "Għaqda Mużikali Marija Annunzjata" and the "Ghaqda Muzikali Madonna tad-Duttrina", with same clubs seeing their beginnings in 1862 and 1997 respectively. The main aims of these clubs are to promote the music culture amongst the locals of Ħal Tarxien and to co-organise the external festivities of their respective feasts. "Għaqda Mużikali Marija Annunzjata" organises the titular feast of the Annunciation of Our Lady held annually during the last week of May/first week of June, whilst the "Ghaqda Muzikali Madonna tad-Duttrina" organises the secondary feast of the village, that of Our lady of Christian Doctrine held annually in the third week of July.
Former Speaker of the House of the Representatives and Ambassador of Malta to the Vatican, Chev. Dr. Jimmy Farrugia lived at Ħal Tarxien until his death in 2007.
Chev. Raffaele Bonnici Calì, painter, restorer and local historian lived in Ħal Tarxien until his death in 2002.
Thea Garrett, singer. She represented Malta at Eurovision Song Contest 2010.
Melvin J. Gouder, Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon with special interest in Diabetic eye disease and vitreoretinal surgeon. Author of the book "The Retina, A Guide to self assessment. https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783030485900
The Tarxien Temples - Article from Grip magazine (Maltese publication)
May 08, 2024
tarxien, maltese, Ħal, town, port, region, malta, seat, port, regional, council, population, stood, 8583, march, 2014, Ħal, local, council, parish, churchflagcoat, armsmotto, tyrii, genure, coloni, phoenicians, created, coordinates, 86583, 51194, 86583, 51194c. Tarxien Maltese Ħal Tarxien is a town in the Port region of Malta seat of the Port Regional Council 1 Its population stood at 8583 in March 2014 2 Tarxien Ħal TarxienLocal councilTarxien Parish ChurchFlagCoat of armsMotto s Tyrii Genure Coloni The Phoenicians Created Me Coordinates 35 51 57 N 14 30 43 E 35 86583 N 14 51194 E 35 86583 14 51194Country MaltaRegionPort RegionDistrictSouthern Harbour DistrictBordersFgura Luqa Ghaxaq Paola Santa Luċija ZejtunGovernment MayorJoseph Abela PL Area Total0 9 km2 0 3 sq mi Population Jan 2019 Total8 627 Density9 600 km2 25 000 sq mi Demonym s Tarxiniz m Tarxiniza f Tarxinizi pl Time zoneUTC 1 CET Summer DST UTC 2 CEST Postal codeTXNDialing code356ISO 3166 codeMT 59Patron saintAnnunciationDay of festa3rd Sunday of May Annunciation 3rd Sunday of July Our Lady of Doctrine WebsiteOfficial website The town is most notable for the Tarxien Temples a megalithic temple complex which is among the oldest freestanding structures on Earth It forms part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site 3 Contents 1 Etymology 2 Demographics 3 Main sights 3 1 Prehistoric temples 3 2 Churches 4 Local Council 5 Band clubs 6 Fireworks organization 7 Notable people from Tarxien 8 Twin cities 9 Gallery 10 Main roads 11 References 12 External linksEtymology editThe etymology of the village may be a corruption of Tirix meaning a large stone similar to those used for the village s noted temples 4 The village motto is Tyrii Genure Coloni The Phoenicians created me Demographics editTarxien s population stood at 7 724 villagers in December 2008 which increased to 8 583 by March 2014 2 When the summer comes the heat drives most of the citizens of Ħal Tarxien to the seaside villages of Malta often bringing down the population of the village to about two thirds of what it is during the colder months Main sights editPrehistoric temples edit Main article Tarxien Temples The oldest temple here is said to date back to about 3600 BCE The temples feature various statues and reliefs of animals including goats for which Malta is noted and pigs Most notable of the statues found in the Temples are about 2 5 m in height and are said to represent a sort of Mother Goddess There are several of these statues scattered around the various temples and are thought to represent fertility There was also one of three small baked clay figurines in the form of what is said to be a priest that was found here Churches edit The parish church of Ħal Tarxien is dedicated to the Annunciation of Our Lady hence the Tarxinizi the people of Ħal Tarxien consider the Blessed Virgin Mary particularly at Her Annunciation as the Patron and Protector of their town and its whole population The church was elevated to the status of parish in 1592 making it one of the oldest parishes of Malta A key part of Ħal Tarxien culture is the feast of the Annunciation whose feast is celebrated in late May or first Sunday of June It is celebrated with religious celebrations and liturgical services at the parish church and publicly with street decorations band marches in the village streets and large aerial and ground firework displays nbsp A street in Tarxien The second largest church in town is dedicated to the Resurrection of Christ better known by the locals as Ta l Erwieħ Maltese pronunciation tɐ lɛrˈwɪːħ The word means of the souls and it is used due to the old cemetery that surrounds the church This church is right next to the renowned Tarxien Neolithic Temples and is visited by many tourists as many of the prehistoric remains were also found in the mentioned cemetery There are two other small chapels in Ħal Tarxien These are dedicated to St Bartholomew and St Mary respectively There is also another chapel which is housed in the convent of the Sisters of Charity This is dedicated to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception The same congregation have a school There is also another church dedicated to St Nicholas of Tolentino and a convent which belongs to the Augustinian Friars Local Council editThe Ħal Tarxien local council members are Joseph Abela Galea Mayor PL Darlene Vella Vice Mayor PL Christian Pace PL Neil Portelli PL Tommy Debattista PL Anabelle Marmara PN Ismael Dalli PN Band clubs editThere are two band clubs in Ħal Tarxien These are the Għaqda Muzikali Marija Annunzjata and the Ghaqda Muzikali Madonna tad Duttrina with same clubs seeing their beginnings in 1862 and 1997 respectively The main aims of these clubs are to promote the music culture amongst the locals of Ħal Tarxien and to co organise the external festivities of their respective feasts Għaqda Muzikali Marija Annunzjata organises the titular feast of the Annunciation of Our Lady held annually during the last week of May first week of June whilst the Ghaqda Muzikali Madonna tad Duttrina organises the secondary feast of the village that of Our lady of Christian Doctrine held annually in the third week of July The Annunciation Band Club L Għaqda Muzikali Marija Annunzjata http www tarxienbandclub com Our lady of Christian Doctrine Band Club Ghaqda Muzikali Madonna Tad Duttrina https www facebook com duttrina Fireworks organization editGhaqda tan nar San Gabriel www stgabrielfireworkstarxien com Ghaqda tan nar Madonna Tad DuttrinaNotable people from Tarxien editFormer Prime Minister of Malta Dominic Mintoff lived in Ħal Tarxien and died at his residence there on 20 August 2012 Former Minister Magistrate Dr Joseph Cassar Former Speaker of the House of the Representatives and Ambassador of Malta to the Vatican Chev Dr Jimmy Farrugia lived at Ħal Tarxien until his death in 2007 Chev Raffaele Bonnici Cali painter restorer and local historian lived in Ħal Tarxien until his death in 2002 Thea Garrett singer She represented Malta at Eurovision Song Contest 2010 Melvin J Gouder Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon with special interest in Diabetic eye disease and vitreoretinal surgeon Author of the book The Retina A Guide to self assessment https www springer com gp book 9783030485900Twin cities edit nbsp Ovindoli Italy nbsp Veliko Tarnovo Bulgaria nbsp Saint Elix le Chateau FranceGallery edit nbsp Reconstructed entrance to the temple complex nbsp Magna Mater in the Ħal Tarxien Temple nbsp A relief showing goats and ramsMain roads editMisraħ ir Repubblika Republic Square Misraħ is Suq Market Square Triq Birzebbuġa Birzebbuga Road Triq Brittanika Britannic Street Triq Ħal Tarxien Tarxien Road Triq id Dejma Dejma Street Triq il Kbira Main Street Triq il Palma Palm Street Triq Paola Paola Road Triq San Anard St Leonard Road Triq Santa Marija St Mary Street Triq Tal Barrani Outer Road Triq il Knisja Church Street Triq iz Zejtun Zejtun Road Triq Marju Schembri Mario Schembri Street References edit Home Port Regional Council Retrieved 17 April 2024 a b Estimated Population by Locality 31st March 2014 Government of Malta 16 May 2014 Archived from the original on 21 June 2015 Megalithic Temples of Malta UNESCO World Heritage List Retrieved 5 July 2015 Times of MaltaExternal links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tarxien Tarxien Local Council The Tarxien Temples Article from Grip magazine Maltese publication Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Tarxien amp oldid 1219433453, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
