Dwejra Tower
Dwejra Tower ( Maltese Torri tad-Dwejra ) is a defense tower on the island of Gozo, which belongs to Malta .
description
The tower stands near the Inland Sea and the former Azure Window on the island of Gozo. It has a square base of 6 x 6 m and a height of 11 m. The place Dwejra belongs to the municipality of San Lawrenz .
The interior consisted of two floors. Access was from the outside on the upper floor.
history
Dwejra Tower was completed in 1652 under the reign of Grand Master Jean de Lascaris-Castellar . It was financed by Gozo's then government college, the Universita ' . The tower was in command of a capo mastro or castellan , and it was his responsibility to earn money to maintain the tower by boiling salt . Like almost all Lascaris Towers , it was designed as a guard to give early warning of approaching enemy ships.
In the 18th century, the tower was still manned and armed with two six-pounders, which, however, were more used to send signals and were not designed for combat. Between 1839 and 1873 the - now British - crew of the tower consisted of soldiers from the Royal Malta Fencible Artillery , then it was abandoned. In the summer of 1914, the tower was again crewed by soldiers from the King's Own Malta Regiment and the Royal Malta Artillery , who were now equipped with two, later four twelve-pounders and monitored the coast of Gozo. Dwejra Tower also served as a watchtower during World War II . In 1942, the crash of a Royal Air Force Spitfire fighter into Dwejra Bay was observed from here; the pilot was rescued by the tower crew.
In 1956 the tower was leased to a private individual for 50 years, but later it came into the possession of Dín l-Art Ħelwa on loan . This organization started restoration work in 1997, which ended in 1999. A large part of the stone blocks outside was replaced, stone tiles were laid inside.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Dwejra Tower, Gozo. In: Heritage Sites managed by Din l-Art Helwa. Dín l-Art Ħelwa , accessed December 13, 2019 .
- ↑ a b c Dwejra Tower. (PDF) In: National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands. Sovrintendenza tal-Patrimonju Kulturale, March 30, 2012, accessed December 13, 2019 .
Coordinates: 36 ° 2 ′ 58.4 " N , 14 ° 11 ′ 31.7" E