St. Paul's Bay ( mt, San Pawl il-Baħar) is a town in the Northern 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 ...

, sixteen kilometres () northwest of the capital

Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an administrative unit and capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 ...

. Saint Paul's Bay is the largest town in the Northern Region and the seat of the Northern Regional Committee. Its name refers to the shipwreck of

Saint Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

as documented in the

Acts of the Apostles The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its messag ...

on St. Paul's Islands near St Paul's Bay, on his voyage from Caesarea to Rome, which laid the foundations of Christianity on the island.

Burmarrad Burmarrad is a hamlet in St. Paul's Bay, Malta. The main heritage site is the San Pawl Milqi zone, where there is a chapel dedicated to St. Paul, built on the remains of a Roman temple dedicated to Apollo, and tradition says to be the remains of ...

, Wardija,

Qawra Qawra ( mt, Il-Qawra, ) is a zone within St. Paul's Bay in the Northern Region, Malta, Northern Region, Malta. It is located close to Buġibba and Salina, Malta, Salina, and it is a popular tourist resort, containing many hotels and restaurants. ...

Buġibba Buġibba (English pronunciation: ) is a zone within St. Paul's Bay in the Northern Region, Malta. It is situated adjacent to Qawra, and it is a popular tourist resort, containing numerous hotels, restaurants, pubs, clubs, and a casino. History D ...

Xemxija Xemxija ( mt, Ix-Xemxija, pronounced ''shem-shee-ya'') is a suburb on the western part of St. Paul's Bay in the Northern Region, Malta. It is a quiet resort, surrounded by Maltese countryside and some of the most fertile valleys in Malta. There i ...

, and San Martin, as well as parts of Bidnija and

Mistra Mystras or Mistras ( el, Μυστρᾶς/Μιστρᾶς), also known in the ''Chronicle of the Morea'' as Myzithras (Μυζηθρᾶς), is a fortified town and a former municipality in Laconia, Peloponnese, Greece. Situated on Mt. Taygetus, ...

, form part of St. Paul's Bay Local Council. The area of the locality is . The population in 2018 was 23,112. This goes up to about 60,000 between June and September with Maltese residents and

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism ...

s lodging in

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

s, especially in Buġibba and Qawra.Heading north is Mistra Bay, its headland and

St Paul's Island St Paul's Island ( Maltese: ''Il-Gżejjer ta' San Pawl''), also known as Selmunett, is a small island off Selmun near the north-east of the main island of Malta. St Paul's Island is sometimes split into two islands by a shallow isthmus, and it i ...

. Going west and crossing the island towards Ġnejna Bay and Golden Bay is the scenic

Wardija Ridge Wardija Ridge is a scenic plateau, one of a group in the north of Mġarr, Malta, just outside of Wardija. Wardija ridge is part of a series of hills that run on a southwest-northeast axis from the Għajn Tuffieħa area in Mġarr to the Xemxija ...

History

Archaeological remains have been found in the limits of St. Paul's Bay, which go back to around 4000 BC. Among the remains there are the megalithic temples of

and Xemxija. In addition, Cart Ruts were found on the

at Busewdien, while Punic tombs and other

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 pri ...

remains were also found. During the Roman period, St. Paul's Bay became an important harbour. Remains of a Roman road, baths and beehives, have been found at Xemxija, while Roman anchors were found on the seabed. By the late Middle Ages, St. Paul's Bay was abandoned since the area was unsafe due to corsair raids. The local militia maintained several watch posts in the area. One of these, known as Ta' Tabibu farmhouse, still survives today and is considered to be the oldest building in St. Paul's Bay. A building of a church was also noted at the arrival of the Order of St John in 1530. A number of fortifications were built in the area during the rule of the Order of Saint John. The first of these was the

Wignacourt Tower Wignacourt Tower ( mt, Torri ta' Wignacourt), also known as Saint Paul's Bay Tower ( mt, Torri ta' San Pawl il-Baħar), is a bastioned watchtower in St. Paul's Bay, Malta. It was the first of six Wignacourt towers to be built, and the first ston ...

, built in 1610, which is now the oldest surviving watchtower in Malta. Qawra Tower was built by Grand Master Lascaris in 1638. In 1715, batteries were built around these two towers, while two batteries and a redoubt were built in other parts of the St. Paul's Bay coastline. Of these, only Arrias Battery survives today, since Dellia Battery and Perellos Redoubt were demolished in the 20th century. The bay was one of the landing places during the

French invasion of Malta The French invasion of Malta ( mt, Invażjoni Franċiża ta' Malta) was the successful invasion of the islands of Malta and Gozo, then ruled by the Order of St. John, by the French First Republic led by Napoleon Bonaparte in June 1798 as part of ...

in June 1798. After the Maltese uprising against the French, St. Paul's Bay became the main harbour of Malta since the

Grand Harbour The Grand Harbour ( mt, il-Port il-Kbir; it, Porto Grande), also known as the Port of Valletta, is a natural harbour on the island of Malta. It has been substantially modified over the years with extensive docks ( Malta Dockyard), wharves, a ...

and Marsamxett were still under French control. In the 19th century, several villas were built in St. Paul's Bay. These were requisitioned by the British military in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

and the bay became a rest camp. After the Italian armistice of 1943, 76 ships of the ''

Regia Marina The ''Regia Marina'' (; ) was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy (''Regno d'Italia'') from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the birth of the Italian Republic (''Repubblica Italiana''), the ''Regia Marina'' changed its name to ''Marina Militare'' ("M ...

'' were anchored at St. Paul's Bay after surrendering to the British. After the war, the area began to be further developed. Today, St. Paul's Bay, Qawra, Buġibba, Xemxija and Burmarrad form a large cluster of buildings. The area is a popular entertainment spot.

Crime

St. Paul's Bay has the largest number of reported thefts in Malta, amounting to 423 out of 4,037 thefts, and the largest amount of domestic violence incidents, amounting to 93 out of 1,409.

Sports

Sirens F.C. Sirens Football Club is a professional association football, football club from the north-western seaside village of San Pawl il-Baħar in Malta. Founded in 1968, they currently compete in the Maltese Premier League. Club history Sirens FC wa ...

football club * Sirens A.S.C. Waterpolo club *

Malta Young Sailors Club 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 lie ...

dinghy sailing club

Zones in St. Paul's Bay

* Bajda Ridge *

* Busewdien *Daħlet il-Fekruna *Erba' Mwieżeb *Għajn Astas * Għajn Rasul *Għar Għasfur *Ħotba ta' San Martin *Il-Ballut *Il-Ħamra *Il-Palma *Il-Wileġ *L-Imbordin *Mdawra *Mistra Bay (Qala l-Mistra) *Miżieb *Port Bur-Marrad * Pwales Beach (Ramla tal-Pwales) *

*Qawra Point (Ras il-Qawra) *Rdum l-Abjad (White Cliffs) *Rdum Rxawn *Rdum Tal-Maħruq *Rxawn Point *Safsafa * San Martin *

San Pawl Milqi San Pawl Milqi is the ruin of a Roman-period agricultural villa and a pagan temple, the most extensive to have ever been unearthed in Malta. A christian church was built on site based on the pseudo-history and religious doctrine that the site ha ...

*Simar *Tal-Arġentier *Tal-Basal *Ta' Ċampra *Tal-Fjuri *Ta' Garrum *Tal-Għażżelin * Tal-Qadi *Tal-Qarbuni *Ta' Rkuplu *Tal-Veċċja *Tax-Xama' *Ta' Xewka * Wardija *Wardija Heights *Wardija Ridge *Wied Bufula *Wied Qannotta *Wied Sardin *Wied tal-Mistra *Wied tal-Pwales *

*Xemxija Bay

Main roads

St. Paul's Bay

*Dawret San Pawl (St Paul By-Pass) *Triq Għajn Tuffieħa (Golden Bay Road) *Triq Parades *Triq San Pawl (St Paul Street) *Triq il-Mosta

Buġibba

*Dawret il-Gżejjer (Islet Promanade) *Triq il-Bajja (Bay Street) *Triq Bordino (Bordino Street) *Triq l-Erba' Mwieżeb (Erba' Mwiezeb Road) *Triq il-Korp tal-Pijunieri (Pioneer Corps Road) *Triq il-Kaħli *Triq il-Knisja (Church Street) *Triq il-Mosta (Mosta Road) *Triq il-Plajja ta' Bognor (Bognor Beach Street) *Triq ir-Rebbiegħa (Spring Street) *Triq Sir Luigi Preziosi (Sir Luigi Preziosi Street) *Triq Sant' Antnin (St Anthony Street) *Triq Toni Bajada (Toni Bajada Street)

Burmarrad

*Triq Burmarrad (Burmarrad Road) *Triq il-Wardija (Wardija Road) *Triq il-Witja *Triq Toni Camilleri

Qawra

*Dawret il-Gżejjer (Islet Promenade) *Dawret il-Qawra (Qawra Promenade) *Triq Cassarino (Cassarino Street) *Triq Għawdex (Gozo Street) *Triq il-Ħalel (Waves Street) *Triq il-Wileġ *Triq J. F. Kennedy (J. F. Kennedy Street) *Triq is-Salina (Salina Road) or (Kennedy Drive) *Triq it-Trunċiera (Entrenchment Street) *Triq it-Turisti (Tourist Street)

Xemxija

*Telgħa tal-Mistra (Mistra Hill) *Telgħa tax-Xemxija (Xemxija Hill) *Xatt il-Pwales (Pwales Strand)

Twin towns – sister cities

Saint Paul's Bay is twinned with: *

Chaum Chaum is a commune in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern France. It is situated on the former Route nationale 618, the "Route of the Pyrenees". Population See also *Communes of the Haute-Garonne department The following is a lis ...

, France * Agios Pavlos, Greece * Oroslavje, Croatia

References

{{Authority control Towns in Malta Local councils of Malta