Luka ( Mal. Ħal Luqa , means poplar ) is a village in the southern region of Malta . It is an old city with a dense population typical of the Maltese Islands . As of March 2014, the population of Luke was 5,945 people. On the main square there is a church dedicated to Andrew the First-Called . The traditional holiday of St. Andrew the First Called is celebrated on the first Sunday of July, the liturgical holiday is celebrated on November 30th.
City | |||||
Luke | |||||
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Luqa, Ħal Luqa | |||||
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A country | Malta | ||||
History and geography | |||||
Square | 6.7 km² | ||||
Center height | |||||
Timezone | UTC + 1 , in the summer UTC + 2 | ||||
Population | |||||
Population | 5945 people ( 2014 ) | ||||
Digital identifiers | |||||
Telephone code | +356 395 | ||||
Postcode | |||||
luqalocalcouncil.com | |||||
The famous watchmaker and inventor Michelangelo Sapiano (1826-1912) used to live in Luka. He built various kinds of clocks, the clocks in the bell tower of the parish church were one of his many works. The house in Luka, where he lived, is located on Paula Magri Street.
Content
History
Luke was founded as a separate parish from Gudi on May 15, 1634 by the Decree of Pope Urban VIII. In 1592, the village of Luca suffered from the bubonic plague , which at that time struck the entire population of Malta and caused many deaths. A sign of this sad episode is the graveyard found on Carmel Street, alley 4, where people were buried in a field turned into a graveyard.
Another sad tragedy for Luke was the cholera epidemic of 1850, when 13 people died. As a reminder of this tragedy, a cemetery is still in Valletta Road.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Luke gained fame because of the airport. The Royal Air Force created the KVVS Luka station, an airfield with runways, which later became the Civil Airport. KVVS established military and civilian buildings in the airfield and airport area and in Farudzha. They used the airfield until its closure on March 31, 1979, when it was transferred to the Maltese government for conversion to the Civil Airport. However, they still used the internal site for their own military power.
During the Second World War, many people died in Luka, many buildings were destroyed as a result of intensive bombing. The tragedy, which is still remembered, occurred on April 9, 1942, when a bomb hit a military shelter and a well, and people inside the shelter were buried alive. The local council still remembers people who died during World War II, with the ceremony of laying laurel wreaths along with other local organizations and clubs.
The patron saint of Luke is Andrew the First-Called (Sant 'Andrija). The local niche dedicated to him is in Luka, two stories high.
Board
Luke citizens vote for their local council every three years, which consists of seven members, one of whom is the mayor. Mayor of Luke is John Skembri.
Economy
Air Malta and Medavia have their headquarters at Malta International Airport in Luca.