Fort Benghisa () is a

polygonal fort A polygonal fort is a type of fortification originating in France in the late 18th century and fully developed in Germany in the first half of the 19th century. Unlike earlier forts, polygonal forts had no bastions, which had proved to be vulnerab ...

Birżebbuġa Birżebbuġa (; sometimes shortened to B'Buġa) is a seaside town in the Southern Region, Malta, Southern Region of Malta, close to Marsaxlokk. It is approximately from the capital Valletta, and has a population of 9,736 as of March 2014. The ...

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

. It was built between 1910 and 1912 by the British on high ground on the seaward face of Benghisa Point, the southern arm of Marsaxlokk Bay. It is the southernmost fortification in Malta. It was part of a chain of fortifications intended to protect

Marsaxlokk Harbour Malta Freeport ( Maltese: ''Il-Port Ħieles'') is an international port on the island of Malta with a trade volume of 3.06 million TEUs in 2015.

, along with Fort Delimara and Fort Tas-Silġ on Delimara point, the north arm of Marsaxlokk Bay,

Fort San Lucian Fort San Lucian (), also known as Saint Lucian Tower () or Fort Rohan (), is a large bastioned watchtower and polygonal fort in Marsaxlokk, Malta. The original tower was built by the Knights Hospitaller, Order of Saint John between 1610 and 1611 ...

on Kbira point in the middle of the bay, and the

Pinto Pinto is a Portuguese, Spanish, Jewish (Sephardic), and Italian surname. It is a high-frequency surname in all Portuguese-speaking countries and is also widely present in Spanish-speaking countries, Italy, India (especially in Mangalore, Karnata ...

and Ferretti batteries on the coast.

History

Malta - Birzebbuga - Triq Benghajsa - Fort Benghajsa 06 ies

Initially, a battery called Hassan Battery was proposed at Benghisa Point. However, the design was developed into a

in 1909. Construction started in 1910 and was completed in 1912. The fort was armed with two

6 inch "6 Inch" is a song by American singer Beyoncé featuring Canadian singer The Weeknd. It is the fifth track on her sixth studio album, ''Lemonade (Beyoncé album), Lemonade'' (2016), released through Parkwood Entertainment and Columbia Records. The ...

and two 9.2 inch breech loading guns. The 17th-century

Bengħisa Tower Bengħisa Tower (), originally known as ''Torre di Benissa'' and also referred to as the Red Tower (), was a small watchtower in Bengħisa, within the limits of Birżebbuġa, Malta. It was built in 1659 as the seventh of the De Redin towers The ...

, one of the

De Redin towers The De Redin Towers () are a series of small coastal watchtowers built in Malta by the Knights Hospitaller, Order of Saint John between 1658 and 1659. Thirteen towers were built around the coast of Malta (island), mainland Malta to act as watchto ...

, was demolished to clear Fort Benghisa's line of fire in 1915. The fort has a ditched pentagonal perimeter, with the perimeter wall and parapet being built from earth excavated during the building of the ditch. The cliffs on the seaward side were also used as part of the fort's defensive perimeter. Fort Benghisa was the last polygonal fort that the British built in Malta. The fort was rearmed prior to

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In the 1950s,

dual purpose gun A dual-purpose gun is a naval artillery mounting designed to engage both surface and air targets. Description Second World War-era capital ships had four classes of artillery: the heavy main battery, intended to engage opposing battleships and ...

s were installed but these were dismantled soon after. It was finally abandoned by the British in the late 1970s.

Present day

The fort is currently in private hands and its interior is inaccessible. Part of the fort was rented in 1973 for an annual sum equivalent to €93, while other parts were rented out in 1981 and 1996 for an annual €177 and €419 respectively. The rents were renewed until 2011, when the government stopped accepting them with the intention to evict the tenants. A 2016 enforcement notice was ignored by the squatters, and the government eventually took back possession of the fort in February 2025. The fort and its environs are currently in a state of neglect, although the gatehouse and the shoreward ditch are in decent shape.

References

Benghisa Buildings and structures completed in 1912 Birżebbuġa Benghisa Limestone buildings in Malta Military installations closed in the 1970s 1912 establishments in Malta 20th-century fortifications {{Malta-geo-stub