Għajnsielem (; meaning "Spring of Sielem") is a municipality on the southeastern coast of the island of

Gozo Gozo ( ), known in classical antiquity, antiquity as Gaulos, is an island in the Malta#The Maltese archipelago, Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the Republic of Malta. After the Malta Island, island of Malta ...

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

, including the entire island of

Comino Comino () is a small island of the Maltese archipelago between the islands of Malta (island), Malta and Gozo in the Mediterranean Sea, measuring in area. Named after the cumin seed, the island has a permanent population of only two residents a ...

. It has a population of 3,200 residents (as of March 2014), and is the first Gozitan village that greets the visitor on leaving Mġarr Harbour towards the Gozitan heartland. Its name originated from the water spring, around which in 1700, Grandmaster Perellos built an arcade containing public wash basins and fresh water spouts. Attractions include Lourdes Chapel with its sharp steeple and underlying niche of

Our Lady of Lourdes Our Lady of Lourdes (; ) is one the Marian devotions, devotional names or titles under which the Catholic Church venerates the Mary, mother of Jesus, Virgin Mary. The name commemorates a series of Lourdes apparitions, 18 apparitions reported by ...

Fort Chambray Fort Chambray or Fort Chambrai () is a bastioned fort located in the precincts of Għajnsielem, on the island of Gozo, Malta. It was built in the mid-18th century by the Knights Hospitaller, Order of Saint John, in an area known as Ras it-Tafal, ...

and the towering of Ghajnsielem Parish Church.

Village Motto and Coat of Arms

The Latin motto of Ghajnsielem is Ob fontem prosperitas, that is Flourishing because of a spring – Nistaghna b’nixxiegha ilma. The springs in the area were the magnet that attracted the first inhabitants that eventually led to the prosperity of the place.

Places

The following is a list of prominent places, buildings and structures in the village. * Mġarr Harbour *

*Lourdes Chapel and Lourdes Home *

Our Lady of Loreto Parish Church Parish Church of Our Lady of Loreto is a Roman Catholic neo-gothic parish church located in the village of Għajnsielem on the island of Gozo, Malta. History New plans were drawn by Ugo Mallia to build a new parish church to replace the old paris ...

*Apparation Square *St Anthony's Church *

Mġarr ix-Xini Tower Mġarr ix-Xini Tower () is the largest of the coastal watchtowers that the Knights of Malta erected on the island of Gozo. It watches over the entrance to the bay of Mġarr ix-Xini, limits of Għajnsielem, which lies on Gozo's south-west coast. ...

*Old Parish Church *Imrejżbiet and Tal-Qiegħan Temples *

Santa Cecilia Tower Santa Cecilia Tower ( or ''ta' Santa Ċilja'') is a tower in Għajnsielem, Gozo, Malta. It was built in 1613 by a member of the Knights Hospitaller, Order of St. John, and it could relay messages across the island. The tower remains in good condi ...

and

Chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

*Niches around Ghajnsielem *Borġ Għarib *The Fougasse *

Garzes Tower Garzes Tower (, or ''Torre della Garza''), also known as Saint Martin's Tower (), was a watchtower built in Mġarr, Gozo by the Order of Saint John in 1605. It was named after Martin Garzez, the Grand Master who financed its construction, even t ...

(demolished) *Belvederes *Gozo Heritage (closed) *Xatt l-Aħmar

Band Clubs

*St. Joseph Band Club
L-Għaqda Mużikali San Ġużepp

Football Clubs

Għajnsielem F.C. Għajnsielem Football Club is a association football, football club from the Malta, Maltese island of Gozo, in the village of Għajnsielem. They are the oldest-still-active club in Gozo and was founded in 1936. The club has won the Gozo Football ...

Zones in Għajnsielem

*Borġ l-Għarib *Fort Chambray *Ġnien Miġiaro *Iċ-Ċens *Il-Gudja *Mġarr Port *Mġarr Valley *Imrejżbiet *Rdum it-Tafal *Ta' Briegħen *Ta' Cordina *Ta' Kusbejja *Taħt il-Belt *Tal-Palma *Xatt l-Aħmar *Żewwieqa

Għajnsielem Main Roads

*Pjazza Indipendenza (Independence Square) *Pjazza Loreto (Loreto Square) *Triq Borġ Għarib (Borg Gharib Road) *Triq il-Fawwara *Triq il-Ġnien (Garden Street) *Triq il-Ħamri *Triq il-Qala (Qala Road) *Triq in-Nadur (Nadur Road) *Triq ix-Xatt (Strand Street) *Triq iż-Żewwieqa *Triq l-Imġarr (Mġarr Road) *Triq Sant' Antnin (St Anthony Road)

Twin towns – sister cities

Għajnsielem is twinned with: *

Bethlehem Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about south of Jerusalem, and the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. It had a population of people, as of . The city's economy is strongly linked to Tourism in the State of Palesti ...

, Palestine *

Tolfa Tolfa is a town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Rome, in the Lazio region of central Italy; it lies to the ENE of Civitavecchia by road. It is the main center in the Monti della Tolfa, an extinct volcanic group between Civitavecchia a ...

, Italy *

Portet-sur-Garonne Portet-sur-Garonne (, literally ''Portet on Garonne''; Languedocien dialect, Languedocien: ''Portèth de Garona'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Haute-Garonne Departments of France, department in southwestern France. Portet-Saint-Simon ...

, France

References

External links

Għajnsielem Local Councilghajnsielem.comRadju Lauretana
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ghajnsielem Towns in Malta Local councils of Malta Gozo