Building - Esplora Interactive Science Centre
Fort Saint Angelo
Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines,
Arabs, Normans, the Angevines, the Aragonese and the Order of Saint John all
contributed to the development of Birgu.
Excavations have shown that from
prehistoric times this location (Fort St. Angelo) has been a reinforced
habitable area. The Temple of Astarte (3,200 - 600 BC) also stood here in the
Bronze Age. An Egyptian pink granite column and large ashlar blocks can still
be found in the chapel of the Fort.
Castle Castrum Maris (castle by the sea)
was probably built during the Arab occupation to protect the port area and its
ships. The castle consisted of an inner and outer department, a barbican
(hidden outpost or passage) and four towers, one of which is in a D-shape.
There were two chapels, one dedicated to St. Mary (current church of St. Anne)
and one chapel dedicated to St. Angelo (later dedicated to the Nativity of Our
Lady). Part of this castle is integrated in the current fort.
From the time of Count Roger the Norman
(1091), the castle was the residence of the feudal lords, who ruled Malta.
The most famous Castellan families that
inhabited the castle were the Guevara and De Nava.
The mistress of Castellan De Nava protested
because she did not have the same status as the wife of Castellan De Nava.
Because De Nava wanted to prevent his affair from becoming publicly known, he
ordered two soldiers to send his mistress away. The guards did not send her
away but locked her up in the dungeon of the castle and then killed her. When
De Nava heard this, he had the two soldiers killed. When opening a sealed room,
the skeletons of the mistress and the two soldiers would have been found. No
official documents can be found about this discovery. The mistress would now
still roam around and is known as the Grey Lady. It is claimed that during the
Second World War she would have saved soldiers from an air raid.
Documents show that in the period 1266-1283
the garrison consisted of 150 men and different weapons and that the castle
already had two chapels in 1274. These chapels are still there.
When the Order of St. John came to Malta in
1530, Grandmaster L'Isle Adam settled in the castle and it became the
Headquarters of the Order.
Subsequent Grandmasters continued to live
in the castle until Jean de La Valette moved to a palace in Birgu.
It was the Order which reinforced the
castle each time with the latest defence insights and made it an impregnable fortress.
D'Homedes Bastion was built in 1536 to
control the entrance of the Grand Harbour and part of the Marsamxett Harbor
(near Fort Manoel). The dry ditch between the fort and Birgu (Vittoriosa) was
also cut into a canal.
In 1547 a cavalier was built behind the
D'Homedes Bastion and the Guirial Battery was built at sea level, named after
commander Francesco de Guiral.
The extensions were built designed by
architect and military engineer Antonio Ferramolino. This addition also
protected access to the Dockyard Creek.
Grandmaster Philippe Villiers de
L'Isle-Adam (deceased in 1534), Piero de Ponte (deceased in 1535), Juan de
Homedes y Coscon (deceased in 1553) and Claude de la Sengle (deceased in 1557)
were buried in the chapel of St. Angelo. Their crypts were later moved to St.
John's Co-cathedral.
In 1565 Malta was attacked by the Ottomans
(Turks), this attack is known as "The Great Siege of Malta".
From hearsay, there are also ghosts of
Ottoman soldiers who were executed during the Great Siege of 1565.
Perhaps the intervention in the period 1676
and 1690 was the most important and
largest intervention.
According to the plan drawn up by military
engineer Carlos de Grunenburgh, parallel cannon batteries were built on four
levels, with a view of the harbour.This modification made the castle
impregnable. The coat of arms of Grunenburgh, who also financially supported
the modifications, is located above the main gate.
During the French occupation (1798-1800)
the fort was fortified and had 80 guns, 48 of which were aimed at the entrance
to the Grand Harbour. The fort also became the headquarters of the French army.
The fort also retained its military
function in the British period.
Two battalions were stationed around 1800.
In 1860 a battery was modified to a gun
battery for three 9-inch RML guns.
In 1903 the fort was transferred to the
Royal Navy and the Royal Navy got its base in the Mediterranean Sea. The fort
became a stone frigate and was named HMS Egmont.
In 1933 the name was changed to the HMS St
Angelo.
A cinema for the men was added to the Fort
and a water distillation plant was added.
On drawings from that period you can
clearly see that the fort was regarded as a ship. For example, the kitchen is
listed as a galley, etc.
During the British period, numerous
workshops, barracks, etc. were built for the fort to provide repair work on
Royal Navy ships. These are all gone now.
Opening hours | Tuesday - Friday 9:00 - 15:00 Saturday - Sunday - public Holidays 10:00 - 17:00 |
Last admission | Advice 60 minutes before closing |
Closed | |
Ticket / admission fee | |
Adults (16+ yrs) | € 6.00 + € 2.00 |
Youth (3- 15 yrs) | € 4.00 + € 1.00 |
Children (0-2 yrs) | Free |
Disability Card Holders | € 3.00 + € 1.00 |
Seniors Card Holders | € 4.00 + Free |
Prize 1: Entrance + Science Show OR Workshop - Complement Prize: Planetarium | |
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