Swieqi

Towns (Malta)
name = Swieqi(Is-Swieqi)
coa = SwieqiHTML.gif
official_name = Is-Swieqi
inhabitants_name = Swieqi (m), Swieqija (f), Swieqin (pl)
other_names = (code: SWQ)

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latitude = 35°55 '15"
longitude = 14°28 '48"
area = 3.1
population_total = 8,208
population_density = 2,689
borders = San Ġwann, Pembroke, St. Julian's, Naxxar, Għargħur
saint = Our Lady the Immaculate Conception Mother of the Church
feast = December 8
mayor = Carmen Said (PN)
website = [http://www.swieqi.gov.mt/ swieqi.gov.mt]

Swieqi ( _en. Swieki) is a town in northeastern Malta. The name "Swieqi" alludes to the watering channels that used to criss-cross what used to be farm land. It is situated 15 minutes by bus from Sliema.

Its quiet environment and central location, combined with its beautiful townhouses have made it popular with the upper-middle/high class population of the island. In fact, vacant property in this area is notorious for its scarcity and despite its high appreciation, most owners are unwilling to sell. Swieqi has seen its population rise over the years. It now accommodates 8,099 people (Nov 2005) and is essentially a dormitory town, although a small number of service industries, IT facilities and English language schools have taken root.

Swieqi also assimilates Ibraġ, Madliena and part of St. Andrews. The Hamlet of Madliena owes its origin to the Chapel of St. Mary Magdalen which was built in the Fifteenth Century. Ta' l-Ibrag is a newly developed Hamlet which over the past decade has almost reached its maximum development potential. Its coat of arms features boulders (the meaning of bragg), watering courses (swieqi in Maltese) and the cross of St. Andrew's. Swieqi has its own local council, and in 2007 had its own postal code instated (SWQ....). The town was fell under the councils of St. Julian's, Birkirkara, San Gwann, Naxxar and Gharghur, at different points in the past.

The town's parish church is dedicated to The Immaculate Conception Mother of the Church, celebrated on the 8th of December. However, the feast is not celebrated, save for a mass and small procession. Very few historical sites can be found in Swieqi. These are located in Madliena, consisting of the Victoria Lines, Madliena Fort, the Batteria San Giovanni and the Madliena Chapel.

The church was built on land donated by the Aquilina family. It was situated in the limits of St. Helen's Parish, B'Kara, in an area known as St. Andrews. In those days only a few families lived in the area and the majority of these were farmers and manual labourers. These people worked hard for the church to be built and so that they could finally have their own chapel where they could participate in the Eucharistic Liturgy and gather together in prayer. His Grace Archbishop Michael Gonzi Blessed the Foundation stone of the Church on 7th May 1964. The building was completed within two years and His Excellency Bishop Emmanuel Galea blessed this new church and consecrated the marble altar on 13th February 1966. In the meantime, Vatican Council II had declared Our Lady as the Mother of the Church, and so it was dedicated to the Immaculate Mary Mother of the Church.

The first Rector of this church was the late Mgr. Stephen Borg. Fr. Stephen dedicated most of his time and energy to collect the necessary funds for this work of love. This was no easy task considering the limited resources available. However, not only did he manage to complete the church with plastering, woodworks, lighting, floor tiles, benches and other amenities, but he also commissioned the titular statue of Our Lady, which was to be the focal point of the church. The late Chev. Emvin Cremona was the artist who designed the splendid sculpture, which was carved out from a single block of wood by Vincent Moroder of Ortisei, Italy. A wooden tabernacle framed by four angels was also the work of Chev. Cremona. This tabernacle is presently positioned in the hall under the church parvis, while the set of angels is temporarily held in storage.

Fr. Vincent Demicoli was the second Rector to serve in this church. It soon became obvious to Fr. Vincent that the Community was growing very rapidly as more people took up residence in this now sought-after area. It is interesting to note that during Fr. Vincent's tenure of office, the number of families grew from the original twenty to over one thousand families. As the chapel could not accommodate so many people he started studying about how the church could be enlarged. Meanwhile, he began to collect funds towards this project. It was also during this period that the Way of the Cross was commissioned. Marco Cremona, Chev. Cremona's son, undertook the task of creating the beautiful fourteen Stations now adorning the Church.

Fr. Vincent also organised various social activities and the eager response of the community showed the importance of the church as a social centre.

Fr. Dennis Schembri was the next Rector. During his tenure of office the church was separated from St. Helen's parish, B'Kara and became an Autonomous Pastoral Zone. Fr. Dennis was given the brief to construct a Parish Church in the centre of nearby Pembroke which meant that the Ta' l-Ibrag church would remain a chapel. This decision was a disappointment to the local community who wished the Parish Church to be the heart of the area. Fr. Dennis moved to Turin, Italy after three years.

His successor was Fr. George Dalli. The Pembroke project was shelved and the original idea of enlarging the present church was revived. The land adjacent to the church was obtained by exchanging it for other Church-owned land. A house that would serve as the Rector's residence was also acquired. The extension of the church and the building of a Pastoral Centre that would cater for all spiritual needs of the community was no longer a dream. It was becoming a reality.

In just under one year the excavation work was completed and three large halls and Catechism rooms were built. On 2nd September 1994 the foundation stone for the church extension was laid and blessed by His Grace Archbishop Joseph Mercieca. Within a year the building was completed and on Christmas Eve 1995 the Evening Vigil Mass was celebrated in the new church. The Architect of the project was Mr. Roger Degiorgio A & CE - the same architect of the original Chapel. The time and effort he dedicated to this project with much love is greatly appreciated.

Fr. George not only undertook the task of seeing to the building of the church, but he also embarked on building a very active community with many lay people involved in providing a service to the community. Various groups were formed and a pastoral structure was created whereby every sector of the community was catered for. It soon became obvious that every single room in the multi-storeyed Pastoral Centre would be put to use. Now it was truly a church made up of people and not just built out of stone.

Fr. George commissioned the artist Marco Cremona to start work on a very large crucifix that would be affixed to the wall behind the altar. The Way of the Cross, which was damaged when vandals set the church on fire on 13th June 1995, was also restored. Two new Stations of the Cross - one representing the Last Supper and the other of the Risen Christ - were also commissioned. His Excellency Bishop Annetto Depasquale blessed this project on 31st March 1999.

On Easter Sunday, 4th April 1999, the Church was declared a Parish under the title of Immaculate Mary Mother of the Church. Fr. Paul Camilleri was appointed as the first Parish Priest.

On 19th January 2000, Fr Gordon Refalo was nominated to succeed Fr Paul Camilleri as Parish Priest. Together with Fr Martin Micallef and Fr Stefan Attard, they are presently serving a community of over two thousand families made up of more than eight thousand parishioners. Today the Parish is lead by Fr.Tony Agius.

Swieqi is a predominantly Nationalist-oriented town, and at one time, the PN even polled 85% of the total votes. There has been a decline in PN fortunes over these past few years though perhaps due to the emergence of Professor Arnold Cassola who is now a General Secretary of the Green Party in Europe. He lately successfully contested the Italian elections. Swieqi is also the hometown of Dolores Cristina who is now the Minister for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, and Michael Frendo, former Minister for Foreign Affiars. Dr. Joseph Borg, former Minister for Foreign Affairs and now EU Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries also lives here.

A twinning agreement has been signed between the Swieqi Local Council and the Council of Taormina. This partnership was signed by the Mayor of Taormina Dott. Mario Bolognari and Swieqi Mayor Mr. Paul Abela. It is the aim of the Councils to lay out the foundations for a new and profound relationship of friendship and solidarity. The twinning should serve to strengthen the existing links between the Maltese and Sicilian Populations. Its aim is also to facilitate exchanges, with youths as the protagonists, in the sector of language studies, tourism and commerce.

In July 2002, eleven youths from Swieqi participated in a Youth Exchange Programme, mainly financed by the European Union's programme YOUTHS. The title of the project was "Intercultural Learning and European Awareness through our traditions". The aims of the exchange were "To create an intercultural awareness for disadvantaged youths in Malta and Ireland, to give Malta and Ireland a better understanding of youths and culture within an EU Country and an applicant country, to create a greater union with the EU and to take a holistic approach with young people from a disadvantaged background". The group visited Galway, the Aaran Islands and Connemara. The partner for this project was Foroige, a youths organization in Ireland.

In April 2004, just one month before Malta's membership in the EU, on 1st May, 14 youths from Swieqi participated in a Youth Exchange held in Malta titled ‘Youth Participation in an Enlarged EU’. The partner group was from Kerimaki, Finland. The group was also received by the President of the Republic and the Minister for Tourism and Culture.

Swieqi Day is celebrated on the 9th of September. In the Middle Ages, when the area of the Swieqi Local Council formed part of the Birkirkara Parish, Swieqi was just a stretch of public land void of any buildings. In the first few twenty years of the sixteenth century, a certain Augustinu Borg occupied a piece of land in Swieqi, in an area known as Nadur Callel. Apart from occupying this land, Borg also decided to build a house and a garden without a legal permit. Therefore, one could say that the first known habitant of Swieqi was an illegal builder called Augustinu Borg!

A couple of Birkirkara residents, amongst them Ġorġ Lanza Zarb, could not bear to see public land to be stolen so selfishly. Therefore, they joined forces and filed a law suit against Augustinu on the 9th of September 1527.

Justice was not served before six whole years. On the 29th of August 1533, the court decided that the plot on which Augustinu Borg built was public land and therefore it ordered that this be classified as ‘reduci ad pristinum publicum statum’, meaning that the land was to be restored to its original state.

In remembrance of this historical event, the Swieqi Local Council adopted the 9th of September as Swieqi Day. Additionally, the Local Council decided to harbour the motto - reduci ad pristinum publicum statum – in order to raise a conscience against the development of illegal property.

The last Swieqi Local Council election took place on the 10th March 2007, and the fifth Council was elected.

Zones in Swieqi

*High Ridge
*Iċ-Ċink
*Il-Ġbejjen
*Madliena
*Slielem tal-Madliena
*Ta' Misraħ Basili
*Ta' Tuta
*Ta' l-Ibraġ (Ibrag)
*Victoria Gardens
*Wied id-Dis
*Wied Mejxu

wieqi Main Roads

*Triq il-Keffa
*Triq il-Madliena (Madliena Road)
*Triq il-Miżura
*Triq is-Sidra
*Triq is-Swieqi (Swieqi Road)
*Triq Sant' Andrija (St Andrew's Road)
*Triq Ta' l-Ibraġ (Ta' l-Ibrag Road)

External links

* [http://www.swieqi.gov.mt/ Swieqi Local Council]
* [http://www.doi.gov.mt/EN/islands/local_councils/councils/swieqi.asp Swieqi Council members]
* [http://www.maltarightnow.com/adc.asp?module=content&page=176 Swieqi Coat of Arms]
* [http://www.swieqifcforumdes.com/ Swieqi FC]

Coordinates: coord|35|55|15|N|14|28|48|E|type:city