Fortifications of Birgu

Fortifications of Birgu
Is-Swar tal-Birgu
Birgu, Malta
St. John Bastion and the Advanced Gate
Map of Birgu's fortifications
Birgu is located in Malta
Birgu
Birgu
Coordinates35°53′10″N 14°31′22.8″E / 35.88611°N 14.523000°E / 35.88611; 14.523000
TypeCity wall
Site information
OwnerGovernment of Malta
ConditionMostly intact
Site history
Builtc. 13th century–1691 (Fort St. Angelo)
1530s–18th century (rest of city walls)
Built byOrder of Saint John
MaterialsLimestone
Battles/warsAttack of 1551
Great Siege of Malta (1565)
Siege of Malta (1798–1800)
Garrison information
Past
commanders
Jean de Valette (1565)

The fortifications of Birgu (Maltese: Is-Swar tal-Birgu) are a series of defensive walls and other fortifications which surround the city of Birgu, Malta. The first fortification to be built was Fort Saint Angelo in the Middle Ages, and the majority of the fortifications were built between the 16th and 18th centuries by the Order of Saint John. Most of the fortifications remain largely intact today.

Birgu's fortifications have been on Malta's tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 1998, as part of the Knights' Fortifications around the Harbours of Malta.[1] They are also listed as monuments in Birgu as part the National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands (NICPMI).

  1. ^ "Knights' Fortifications around the Harbours of Malta". UNESCO Tentative List. Retrieved 12 June 2015.