Editing Birgu (section)

{{Redirect|Vittoriosa|the coaster|MV Vittoriosa}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2015}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name                    = Birgu
| native_name             = Il-Birgu
| native_name_lang        = mt
| official_name           = 
| other_name              = Città Vittoriosa
| settlement_type         = City and [[Local councils of Malta|Local council]]
| image_skyline           = {{multiple image
| border                   = infobox
| total_width              = 280
| image_style              = border:1;
| perrow                   = 1/2/3
 | image1 = Birgu-Vittoriosa - Malta.jpg
 | image2 = Fort St. Angelo, Birgu Malta.jpg
 | image3 = Malta Vittoriosa BW 2011-10-06 11-02-07.jpg
 | image4 = Advanced Gate (cropped).jpg
 | image5 = Malta Maritime Museum from Senglea.jpg
 | image6 = Malta - Birgu - Ix-Xatt tal-Birgu+Cottonera Marina (MSTHC) 06 ies.jpg

}}
| image_caption           = From top: skyline, [[Fort Saint Angelo]], [[Auberge d'Angleterre]], Advanced Gate, [[Malta Maritime Museum]], [[St. Lawrence's Church, Vittoriosa|Church of St. Lawrence]]
| image_flag              = Flag of Birgu.svg
| image_shield            = Birgu coa.svg
| etymology               = 
| nickname                = 
| motto                   = 
| pushpin_map                     = Malta#Mediterranean
| pushpin_relief                  = 1
| map_caption             = 
| coordinates             = {{coord|35|53|17|N|14|31|21|E|type:city_region:MT-03|display=inline,title}}
| coordinates_footnotes   = 
| subdivision_type        = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name        = {{flag|Malta}}
| subdivision_type1       = [[Regions of Malta|Region]]
| subdivision_name1       = [[Port Region, Malta|Port Region]]
| subdivision_type2       = [[Districts of Malta|District]]
| subdivision_name2       = [[Districts of Malta#Southern Harbour District|Southern Harbour District]]
| established_title       = 
| established_date        = 
| founder                 = 
| parts_type              = Borders
| parts_style             = para
| p1                      = [[Cospicua]], [[Kalkara]], [[Żabbar]]
| leader_title            = [[List of mayors of places in Malta|Mayor]]
| leader_name             = John Boxall
| leader_party            = [[Labour Party (Malta)|PL]]
| unit_pref               = Metric
| area_total_km2          = 0.5
| area_note               = 
| area_footnotes          = 
| elevation_m             = 
| elevation_footnotes     = 
| population_total        = 2489
| population_as_of        = Jan. 2019
| population_footnotes    = 
| population_density_km2  = auto
| population_note         = 
| population_demonym      = Ġirbi ([[grammatical gender|m]]), Ġirbija ([[grammatical gender|f]]), Ġirbin ([[plural|pl]])
| timezone1               = [[Central European Time|CET]]
| utc_offset1             = +1
| timezone1_DST           = [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]]
| utc_offset1_DST         = +2
| postal_code_type        = [[Postal codes in Malta|Postal code]]
| postal_code             = BRG
| area_code_type          = [[List of country calling codes|Dialing code]]
| area_code               = 356
| iso_code                = MT-03
| blank_name_sec1         = [[Religion in Malta#Patron Saints|Patron saint]]
| blank_info_sec1         = [[Lawrence of Rome|St. Lawrence]]
| blank1_name_sec1        = [[Public holidays in Malta#Traditional Feasts|Day of festa]]
| blank1_info_sec1        = 10 August
| website                 = {{official website|http://birgu.gov.mt/}}
| footnotes               = 
}}

'''Birgu''' ({{langx|mt|Il-Birgu}} {{IPA|mt|ɪlˈbɪrɡʊ|}}, {{langx|it|Vittoriosa}}), also known by its title '''Città Vittoriosa''' ('Victorious City'), is an old [[Fortifications of Birgu|fortified]] city on the south side of the [[Grand Harbour]] in the [[Port Region, Malta|Port Region]] of [[Malta]]. The city occupies a promontory of land with [[Fort Saint Angelo]] at its head and the city of [[Cospicua]] at its base. Birgu is ideally situated for safe anchorage, and over time it has developed a very long history with maritime, mercantile and military activities.

Birgu is a very old locality with its origins in medieval times. Prior to the establishment of [[Valletta]] as capital and main city of Malta, military powers that wanted to rule the Maltese islands would need to obtain control of Birgu due to its significant position in the Grand Harbour. In fact, it served as the base of the [[Knights Hospitaller|Order of Saint John]] and ''de facto'' capital city of Malta from 1530 to 1571. Birgu is well known for its vital role in the [[Great Siege of Malta]] of 1565.

In the early 20th century, Birgu had a population of over 6000 people. Over the years this decreased, and stood at 2,629 in March 2014. The local population speaks the [[Cottonera Dialect|Cottonera dialect]], which is, however, most limited in Birgu.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sciriha |first=Lydia |url=https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/97092 |title=Id-djalett tal-Kottonera : analizi socjolingwistika |date=1997 |publisher=Daritama Publications |isbn=978-99909-68-26-2 |language=mt}}</ref>