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Birgu
Birgu ( , ), 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 c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fortifications Of Birgu
The fortifications of 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 Knights Hospitaller, 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''. They are also List of monuments in Birgu, listed as monuments in Birgu as part the National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands (NICPMI). History Hospitaller rule The first fortification to be built in Birgu was the ''Fort St. Angelo, Castrum Maris''. It is popularly attributed to have been built by the Arabs in around 870, but the earliest references to the castle date back to around the 13th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Siege Of Malta
The Great Siege of Malta (Maltese language, Maltese: ''L-Assedju l-Kbir'') occurred in 1565 when the Ottoman Empire attempted to conquer the island of Malta, then held by the Knights Hospitaller. The siege lasted nearly four months, from 18 May to 8 September 1565. The Knights Hospitaller had been Hospitaller Malta, headquartered in Malta since 1530, after being driven out of Rhodes, also by the Ottomans, in 1522, following the Siege of Rhodes (1522), siege of Rhodes. The Ottomans first attempted to take Malta in 1551 but failed. In 1565, Suleiman the Magnificent, the Ottoman Sultan, made a second attempt to take Malta. The Knights, who numbered around 500 together with approximately 6,000 footsoldiers, withstood the siege and repelled the invaders. This victory became one of the most celebrated events of sixteenth-century Europe, to the point that Voltaire said: "Nothing is better known than the siege of Malta." It undoubtedly contributed to the eventual erosion of the European ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grand Harbour
The Grand Harbour (; ), also known as the Port of Marsa, is a natural harbour on the island of Malta. It has been substantially modified over the years with extensive docks ( Malta Dockyard), wharves, and fortifications. Description The harbour mouth faces north-east and is bounded to the north by Saint Elmo Point and further sheltered by an isolated breakwater and is bounded to the south by Ricasoli Point. Its north-western shore is formed by the Sciberras Peninsula, which is largely covered by the city of Valletta and its suburb Floriana. This peninsula also divides Grand Harbour from a second parallel natural harbour, Marsamxett Harbour. The main waterway of Grand Harbour continues inland almost to Marsa. The southeastern shore of the harbour is formed by a number of inlets and headlands, principally Rinella Creek, Kalkara Creek, Dockyard Creek, and French Creek, which are covered by Kalkara and the Three Cities: Cospicua, Vittoriosa, and Senglea. The harbour has be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fort Saint Angelo
Fort St. Angelo ( or ) is a bastioned fort in Birgu, Malta, located at the centre of the Grand Harbour. It was originally built in the medieval period as a castle called the (; ). It was rebuilt by the Order of Saint John as a bastioned fort called Fort Saint Angelo between the 1530s and the 1560s, and it is best known for its role as the Order's headquarters during the Great Siege of Malta of 1565. A major reconstruction to designs of Carlos de Grunenbergh took place in the 1690s, giving the fort its current appearance. The fort was garrisoned by the British from 1800 to 1979, at times being classified as a stone frigate known as HMS ''Egmont'' or later HMS ''St Angelo''. The fort suffered considerable damage during World War II, but it was later restored. In 1998, the upper part of the fort was handed to the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Fort St. Angelo has been on Malta's tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 1998, as part of the ''Knights' Fortifications ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Auberge D'Angleterre
Auberge d'Angleterre () is an auberge in Birgu, Malta. It was built around 1534 (incorporating an earlier building) to house knights of the Knights Hospitaller, Order of Saint John from the Langue (Knights Hospitaller), langue of Kingdom of England, England (whose members came from England, Scotland, and Ireland). It now houses a health centre, and is the best-preserved Hospitaller auberge in Birgu. History Auberge d'Angleterre incorporates an earlier single-storey building which originally belonged to a Maltese language, Maltese woman named Catherine Abela. The building was sold to the English knight Sir Clement West in December 1534, and he donated it to the langue of England in May 1535. The house was converted into the langue's headquarters, and a first floor was added at this point. The rear of Auberge d'Angleterre was linked to the now-destroyed Auberge d'Allemagne, Birgu, Auberge d'Allemagne. The auberge is also located adjacent to the house of Sir Oliver Starkey, the s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kalkara
Kalkara () is a village in the Port Region of Malta, with a population of 3,014 as of March 2014. The name is derived from the Latin word for lime (Calce), and it is believed that there was a lime kiln present there since Roman times. Kalkara forms part of the inner harbour area and occupies the area around Kalkara Creek. The town has its own Local Council and is bordered by the cities of Birgu and Żabbar, as well as the town of Xgħajra. History The village of Kalkara developed as a small fishing community around the sheltered inlet of Kalkara Creek. Some historians believe that the land that today is known as Kalkara, was one of the first to be inhabited by the initial dwellers of Malta that came from nearby island of Sicily. The idea behind this theory is that the inlets of the Grand Harbour could have provided these primitive emigrants with the needed shelter after having endured their long voyage in the Mediterranean Sea. Nevertheless, such theories cannot be proven and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malta Maritime Museum
The Malta Maritime Museum () is a maritime museum in Birgu, Malta. It is housed in the former Royal Naval Bakery, which was built in the 1840s as the main bakery for the Mediterranean Fleet. The museum has a collection of over 20,000 artifacts, and it is the largest museum on the island. The museum's aim is to illustrate Malta's maritime history, starting from prehistory to the present. The museum shows this within a Mediterranean and a global context. History The first plans to establish the Malta Maritime Museum were made in 1988, when an advisory committee was set up to set up the museum and collect artifacts from a number of sources. The then-derelict former Royal Naval Bakery in Birgu was chosen to house the museum. After four years, the museum opened to the public on 24 July 1992. It was inaugurated by the Minister for Education and Museums, Ugo Mifsud Bonnici. Since its establishment, the museum's collections have increased by donations from Maltese and foreign individua ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mdina
Mdina ( ; ), also known by its Italian epithets ("Old City") and ("Notable City"), is a fortifications of Mdina, fortified city in the Western Region, Malta, Western Region of Malta which served as the island's former capital, from antiquity to the medieval period. The city is still confined within its walls, and has a population of 250. A natural redoubt, the area of the city has been inhabited since prehistory. A Phoenician Phoenician colonization, colony known as Ann (, ) was established around the sharing its name with the island and presumably acting as its capital. During the Punic Wars, the town was acquired by the Roman Republic, Romans and renamed Melita (ancient city), Melita (, ) after the Greek and Latin language, Latin name for the island, probably taken from the Punic port at Cospicua on the Grand Harbour. Greco-Roman Melite was larger than present-day Mdina. It was reduced to its present size during the period of Byzantine Malta, Byzantine or History of Islam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Districts Of Malta
Malta is for non-local government purposes divided into districts as opposed to the local government Regions of Malta, regions at the same level. The three main types of such districts – statistical, electoral at national level, and policing – have no mainstream administrative effect as the regions and Local councils of Malta, local councils function as the only administrative divisions of the country. Statistical districts and regions Six districts exist, used for statistical purposes and which are, in turn, grouped into five Regions of Malta, regions: , Northern Region, Malta, Reġjun Tramuntana, Central Region, Malta, Reġjun Ċentrali (both of which were formerly part of Malta Majjistral region), Southern Region, Malta, Reġjun Nofsinhar, South Eastern Region, Reġjun Xlokk (both of which were formerly part of Malta Xlokk region), and Gozo Region, Gozo. Each district consists of several Local councils of Malta, localities. The Northern Harbour District, Western Dis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Knights Hospitaller
The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there until 1291, thereafter being based in Kolossi Castle in Cyprus (1302–1310), the island of Rhodes (1310–1522), Malta (1530–1798), and Saint Petersburg (1799–1801). The Hospitallers arose in the early 12th century at the height of the Cluniac movement, a reformist movement within the Benedictine monastic order that sought to strengthen religious devotion and charity for the poor. Earlier in the 11th century, merchants from Amalfi founded a hospital in Jerusalem dedicated to John the Baptist where Benedictine monks cared for sick, poor, or injured Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land. Blessed Gerard, a lay brother of the Benedictine order, became its head when it was established. After the Christian conquest of Jerusalem in 1099 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Local Councils Of Malta
Since June 30, 1993, Malta has been subdivided into 68 localities, governed by local councils, , meaning municipalities or boroughs, and considered by the Maltese as the equivalent to basic villages or towns, where appropriate. These form the most basic type of local government and are subdivisions of the country's first-level Regions of Malta, regions. According to the Local Councils Act (Chapter 363 of the Laws of Malta), Art. 3: (1) Every locality shall have a Council which shall have all such functions as are granted to it by this Act ... (5) Each locality shall be referred to by the name as designated in the Second Schedule and any reference to that locality shall be by the name so designated. List of Maltese local councils Political affiliation of mayors List of Maltese and Gozitan local communities councils Elections for these administrative committees were first ever held 2010 Maltese local elections, 27 March 2010, in the first 8 hamlets listed in this list, th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cospicua
Cospicua (Italian language, Italian) or Bormla (Maltese language, Maltese, ), occasionally also known by the Latin language, Latin name Cottonera, is a double-fortified harbour city in the Port Region, Malta, Port Region of Malta. It served as the principal port of Phoenician Malta and, through ancient Greek language, Greek, Latin language, Latin, and Arabic language, Arabic, may have given its name to the island and country. Along with Birgu and Senglea, it is one of the Three Cities (Malta), Three Cities located within the Grand Harbour to the east of the capital city Valletta. With a population of 5,395 as of March 2014, it is the most dense city of the Three Cities. Locals are known for their Cottonera Dialect, Cottonera dialect. Names The ancient Phoenician language, Phoenician name ''Maleth'' meant "refuge" or "port", cognate with Hebrew language, Hebrew ''malat'' (, "escape"). The ancient Greek language, Greek () and Latin language, Latin probably derived from this topon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
