St. Paul's Bay

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 Buġibba and Xemxija. In addition, Cart Ruts were found on Wardija Ridge at Busewdien, while Punic tombs and other Bronze Age 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 have been 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, 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 in June 1798. After the Maltese uprising against the French, St. Paul's Bay became the main harbour of Malta since the Grand Harbour 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 and the bay became a rest camp. After the Italian armistice of 1943, 76 ships of the Regia Marina 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

As of 2020, 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. football club
• Sirens A.S.C. Waterpolo club
• Malta Young Sailors Club dinghy sailing club

Twin towns – sister cities

Saint Paul's Bay is twinned with:

• FRA Chaum, France
• GRE Agios Pavlos, Greece
• Croatia Oroslavje, Croatia

References

References

1. (2019-09-03). "Gazzetta tal-Gvern ta' Malta".
2. "San Pawl il-Baħar".
3. "Then and Now: St. Paul’s Bay – from fishing village to most populous locality in Malta".
4. "Geography and History".
5. (January 2013). "Realities of Crime, Society and Landuse in the Mediterranean: JANUS I". Department of Criminology, [[University of Malta]].
6. Dillon, Paddy ''Walking in Malta'' Cicerone Press (1 October 2004) {{ISBN. 978-1-85284-422-6 p.107
7. (23 October 2010). "Development near oldest building in St Paul's Bay refused". [[Times of Malta]].
8. Leopardi, E. R.. (1949). "The First Printed Description of Malta : Lyons 1536". Scientia.
9. (May 2008). "Maltese 'siege' batteries of the blockade 1798-1800". Arx - Online Journal of Military Architecture and Fortification.
10. (6 May 2021). "More police for St Paul's Bay – Graziella Galea".
11. "St Paul's Bay with highest number of domestic violence, theft reports in 2020 - The Malta Independent".
12. "Twinning". Government of Malta.