Għallis Tower

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Għallis Tower

The Għallis Tower , also Tal-Għallis Tower , is a fortification built on Malta during the reign of the Order of St. John in 1658/59 . The tower stands on a cliff called Ras il-Ghallis on the north coast of the island of Malta near the town of Naxxar . Together with the Qawra Tower, he monitored the access to Salina Bay .

The tower was erected in 1658 as the second of a series of thirteen watchtowers built during the reign of Grand Master Martin de Redin from 1657 to 1660. These towers are also known as de Redin Towers after him . Compared to the Wignacourt Towers , built between 1609 and 1614 , the task of these towers had changed. Much smaller and less armed, they were primarily used as observation posts, from which the garrison in Valletta and other places should be alerted when an enemy fleet approached . For this purpose, the towers, together with the Wignancourt Towers and the Lascaris Towers, were arranged within sight of each other, so that optical signals could be transmitted day and night. The construction costs of the tower amounted to 426 Scudi .

Like all other de Redin Towers, the Għallis Tower has a square floor plan. The side length is about 9 meters, the height about 12 meters. The masonry of the tower consists of an inner and an outer wall. The space in between is filled with gravel. Weatherproof biogenic limestone was used for the outer wall, and limestone deposited by microorganisms for the inner wall. The tower had two floors, the lower floor has the shape of a truncated pyramid. In the basement there was a larger, windowless storage room. Access to the tower was via a retractable wooden ladder to the room on the first floor. The roof of the tower was provided with a low parapet from which a cannon could be fired. The roof was accessed via a spiral staircase partly built into the wall to the left of the entrance. The tower is said to have been in a deplorable condition as early as 1681.

During the British colonial rule, these towers were initially still in use. In 1813, Captain Dickens proposed that the towers be reinforced and the order's coastal fortifications expanded. However, these plans did not materialize. In 1828, Captain Jones of the Royal Engineers suggested demolishing all the towers. He justified his suggestion with the fact that the towers would not withstand a bombardment with modern artillery for long, but an extension would be too expensive. The structural condition of the towers had deteriorated in the past few years, some were in a ruinous state, others needed repair. In 1832, Colonel Morshead, Chief Royal Engineer , ordered all towers to be demolished. Ultimately, demolition was abandoned and the existing towers were handed over to the local authorities.

The tower is owned by the Maltese government and administered by the Dín l-Art Ħelwa . It is listed under inventory number 37 on the List of Cultural Objects of Malta .

literature

  • Quentin Hughes : Malta. A guide to the fortifications. Said International, 1993, ISBN 9990943-07-9 .
  • Stephen C. Spiteri: The Knight's Fortifications. An Illustrated Guide of the Fortifications built by the Knights of St. John in Malta. Book distributors limited, 2001, ISBN 9789990972061 .
  • Charles Stephenson: The Fortifications of Malta 1530-1945- Osprey Publishing Limited, 2004, ISBN 1-84176-836-7 .

Web links

Commons : Għallis Tower  - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Quentin Hughes: Malta. A guide to the fortifications , pp. 95ff
  2. ↑ a b Stephen C. Spiteri: Naxxar and its fortifications
  3. ^ Dín l-Art Ħelwa, Ghallis Tower, Salina
  4. ↑ National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands: Tal-Għallis Tower (English; PDF; 293 kB)

Coordinates: 35 ° 57 ′ 11 "  N , 14 ° 26 ′ 3"  E