![Iklin place 01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/Iklin_place_01.jpg)
Iklin ( mt, L-Iklin) is a village in the
Central Region of
Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
, with a population of 3,247 as at 2021. Iklin was established in the mid-20th century; however some archaeological sites
and a medieval chapel, named as St. Michael Chapel, are proof to earlier settlements. Until recently, the town was considered to form part of the
Three villages of Malta
The Three Villages ( mt, It-Tliet Irħula) refers to the Maltese villages of Attard, Balzan, and Lija, which are around the centre of the island. The Three Villages are known as such because of their close proximity to one another. In some cases o ...
, as part of Lija. With the separation of Iklin from Lija, Iklin is no longer part of the three villages.
It is bordered by
Għargħur
Għargħur ( mt, Ħal Għargħur) is a village in the Northern Region of Malta. It is situated on a hilltop between two valleys, and it has a population of 2,768 as of March 2014.
Għargħur Festa
In Malta, each village celebrates a different ...
,
San Ġwann,
Birkirkara,
Balzan
Balzan ( mt, Ħal Balzan) is a municipality in the Central Region of Malta, one of the so-called three villages, together with Attard and Lija. The village originally consisted of a group of small dwellings and farms but eventually grew, beco ...
and
Naxxar
Naxxar ( mt, In-Naxxar) is a small city in the Northern Region of Malta, with a population of 14,891 people as of March 2014. The Naxxar Church is dedicated to Our Lady of Victories. The annual village feast is celebrated on 8 September. Naxx ...
.
Iklin is divided in Lower Iklin siding on the Birkirkara bypass and the Upper Iklin. In Lower Iklin houses are built side by side, in general villas and maisonettes but also recently some apartments. In Upper Iklin land is on a hill close to Naxxar and land is considered more expensive; in general the land consists of villas and farmhouses. The two sides share two common facts, the neighborhoods structural design and the general silence living areas.
Etymology
The name of Iklin is derived from the herb ''
Rosmarinus
Rosmarinus ( ) is a small taxonomic clade of woody, perennial herbs with fragrant evergreen needle-like leaves in the family Lamiaceae, native to the Mediterranean Basin.
In 2017 the species in the genus ''Rosmarinus'' were moved into the large ...
officinalis'', which is known as ''l-iklin'' in
Maltese. The valley in which the herb grew has now been built up.
The coat of arms depicts a shield on a blue background with Saint Michael in the centre and, the six roses of L-Iklin on the borders.
History
Modern day Iklin began to develop in the mid-20th century, but the area still has a few minor sites of archaeological importance.
Pre-historical Temples
A
megalithic site, perhaps the remains of a temple, was discovered in 1967 by the Teenagers
Din l-Art Ħelwa
() is a non-governmental and non-profit, voluntary organisation founded in 1965 by Maltese Judge Maurice Caruana Curran to safeguard Malta's cultural heritage and natural environment. Since its foundation, Din l-Art Ħelwa has restored numerous ...
group from
St. Aloysius' College. Unfortunately, this site has never been seriously surveyed or studied. A second
megalithic site was studied in 1986 during works on the new
Birkirkara By-Pass, in the area known as Tar-Raddiena. Two large megaliths, and a few smaller ones are still visible (though often ignored) on this busy road. The ruins were dated, through pottery sherds found during excavation, to the
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...
. The foundations of a
Roman Villa
A Roman villa was typically a farmhouse or country house built in the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, sometimes reaching extravagant proportions.
Typology and distribution
Pliny the Elder (23–79 AD) distinguished two kinds of villas n ...
were excavated in 1975 during construction works. The site has had its own historic importance, but it was destroyed soon after the excavations when the development for housing estates proceeded. Various references can be found related to these pre-historic sites with documents penned by Maltese archeologist,
Anthony Bonanno. It is widely believed that further remains are still to be found and unearthed in the surrounding areas.
Old Chapel
In the 15th century, a chapel dedicated to
St. Michael was built in what is now Iklin.
Pietro Dusina Pietro Dusina was an Italian Roman Catholic priest from Brescia who was the inquisitor and apostolic delegate to Malta between 1574 and 1575.
Dusina was nominated inquisitor of Malta by Pope Gregory XIII on 3 July 1574, and he arrived on the islan ...
visited the chapel during his Apostolic Visit of 1575, and he described it as being in a poor state. The chapel was rebuilt in 1615 by Gilormu Agius. Today it is open once a year for the
feast of St. Michael, which is celebrated the Sunday before 29 September by the Lija fireworks team.
The first purposely-built residential house in modern Iklin was ''Dar il-Lewża'', which was built in 1954,
suffered severe structural impact as outlined in 2012, and demolished in 2018. A number of
villa
A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became s ...
s were constructed in the 1960s and early 1970s, and development increased rapidly between the late 1970s and the 1980s.
[ Iklin has had a local council since 1994, and the town became a separate parish in 2005. A new parish church named for the ]Holy Family
The Holy Family consists of the Child Jesus, the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph. The subject became popular in art from the 1490s on, but veneration of the Holy Family was formally begun in the 17th century by Saint François de Laval, the fir ...
was built for this purpose.
Local Council
The Iklin Local Council was established by the Local Councils Act of 1993, along with the other local councils of Malta
Since June 30, 1993, Malta has been subdivided into 68 localities, governed by local councils, mt, kunsilli lokali, meaning municipalities or borough. These form the most basic form of local government and there are no intermediate levels betwee ...
. The first election was held on 19 March 1994.
The local council, elected in 2019, is made up of the following members:
*Dr. Dorian Sciberras(mayor)
*Mrs. Yvonne Bartolo (deputy mayor)
*Ms Bernice Farrugia
*Mr Emanuel Zammit
*Mr Godwin Catania
*Etienne Montfort (executive secretary)
Church
The Holy Family Parish Church , situated in Pjazza Ninu Cremona
Ninu "Anthony" Cremona (May 27, 1880 - January 4, 1972), colloquially known as ''Is-Sur Nin'', was a Maltese writer and health inspector.
He was the best son of Feliċ and Margaret née Pace. He was born in Victoria (Rabat) Gozo. Orphaned at a ...
, serves as the main church in this small locality. In the 80s, the need for a church was evident with the growing population. The first steps were taken by the then Lija
Lija ( mt, Ħal Lija) is a small village in the Central Region of Malta. It forms part of the Three villages of Malta, along with Attard and Balzan. Lija has a baroque parish church and seven other small chapels. The parish church is dedicat ...
parish priest to set up locations where catechism could be taught and mass celebrated. On the 23rd July 1993, through the donation of a benefactor, a property was converted into a church and the new Pastoral Centre was officially inaugurated. It was only in 2005 that this church became an officially recognised Parish church. 360 Virtual tour of the church can be seen her
Sport
The Lija/Iklin Football Nursery is fast gaining prominence on the local sports scene. Inaugurated in 2002, this association was co-founded by Lija and Iklin as a training nursery to eventually feed the best players to the Lija Athletic Football Club. The need for better training and playing facilities continues to be felt in this locality.
Zones in Iklin
The locality of Iklin includes the following zones:
*Il-Qasbija
*Ta' Ġnien Fonsu (Alphons' Garden)
*Ta' Kieles
*Ta' Simblija
*Tal-Balal
*Tat-Tabib (Doctor's area)
*Tax-Xwieki
*Hal Mann
Main roads
The main roads of Iklin are:
*Triq Dun Karm (Dun Karm By-Pass)
*Triq Geronimo Abos (Geronimo Abos Street)
*Triq il-Wied (Valley Road)
*Triq in-Naxxar (Naxxar Road)
Village Squares
Ninu Cremona
Ninu "Anthony" Cremona (May 27, 1880 - January 4, 1972), colloquially known as ''Is-Sur Nin'', was a Maltese writer and health inspector.
He was the best son of Feliċ and Margaret née Pace. He was born in Victoria (Rabat) Gozo. Orphaned at a ...
Square
Anton Buttigieg Square
File:Iklin place 03.jpg, Old Buildings, Iklin
File:An old house in Iklin.jpg, Old houses being replaced by new developments, Iklin
File:Iklin malta street.jpeg, Residential Areas, Iklin
File:Iklin pre-historic temple.jpg, Remains of Pre-historic temples, Iklin
Important links
Iklin Local Council
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Towns in Malta
Local councils of Malta
Populated places established in 1954