Zurrieq

Zurrieq is one of the oldest towns in Malta, and has a population of 12,000 inhabitants (Jul 2010). Zurrieq is situated in the South West of Malta. 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 strecthes from In Nigret to Hal far respectively in old times the town was a border with Zejtun. There were small villages part of Zurrieq including Qrendi, Birzebbuga, Hal Millieri, Hal Lew, Hal Manin, Bubaqra, Tal Baqqari, Hal Far, Hlantun, Hal Niklusi, Has Sejjih, Hal Qadim, Hal Arrig, Hal Gawhar, Hal Ghabdirzaq. The Village of Zurrieq 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 We find the first historical reference of this village back in 1400.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.