Birkirkara

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Birkirkara (or B'Kara) is a town of 25,000 inhabitants in central Malta. It is the largest town on the island and consists of four autonomous parishes: St Helen, St Joseph, and Our Lady of the Carmel and St.Mary. It also houses one of the most famous colleges in Malta, St Aloysius' College. Birkirkara is the home town of President Edward Fenech Adami and Opposition Leader Alfred Sant and also the first president of Malta Anthony Mamo.

The city's motto is "In hoc signo vinces", and its coat of arms is a plain red cross with a crown on the top.

There are many places of interest in Birkirkara, among which are the Old Railway Station, which today is a public garden. Trains were used as means of transportation until 1931. Other attractions include the aqueducts near Mriehel, and St Helen's basilica, one of the most beautiful churches on the Maltese islands, which also houses Malta's biggest bell. Birkirkara is one of the oldest towns in Malta. It was already featured in the 1436 Ecclestiastical Report which established parishes in Malta and Gozo. Birkirkara emerged as the largest parish. Indeed, quite a lot of parishes emerged from Birkirkara over the years. These include Sliema, St. Julian's, Msida, and Hamrun in the 19th century and St. Venera in the early 20th century. In more recent years, there was San Gwann (1965) and the hamlet of Tal-Ibragg was hived off from Birkirkara to form part of the new parish and locality of Swieqi back in 1993. It has been the largest populated town in Malta for the last fifteen years. The main religious feast is that of St Helen which is celebrated on 18 August if it falls on a Sunday, or on the first Sunday after that date. The main event of the celebration is a procession with a larger than life wooden statue carved by the Maltese sculptor Salvu Psaila. This is the only procession that is celebrated in the morning. The procession leaves the basilica at exactly 08:00, and returns at 10:45. The statue is carried shoulder-high through the main streets of the city.

Birkirkara has grown into an important commercial centre yet it has not lost its charm as a residential hub. Birkirkara is also known for its football club, which has been around since 1950. Despite having a crop of brilliant players over the past few years, the team had found it hard to win the league, arguably because of the rise, first of Valletta, and nowadays of Sliema. Despite the difficulties, the football team managed to win the 2005/2006 championship, its second honour so far.

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