Grand Harbor
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The natural harbor Grand Harbor is a branched bay that cuts more than three kilometers deep into the northeast coast of the island of Malta . On its north side is the island's capital Valletta . On the east and south side are the shipyards around the cities of Floriana , Senglea and Paola, which were heavily destroyed in the Second World War (see also Siege of Malta (Second World War) ) .
The Grand Harbor already served as an anchorage for the Phoenicians , Puners , Romans , Byzantines , Arabs and Spaniards . The side bays that reach into the hinterland like fingers form peninsulas on the east side. When the Order of St. John arrived in 1530 AD, only the area around the Borgo del Castello (Maltese Birgu ) was inhabited. The place grew rapidly when the Order established its convent here. Since Phoenician times there was a fortification on the peninsula, which was expanded by the Hospitallers to Fort St. Angelo .
In 1552 the Grand Master Claude de la Sengle had the peninsula next to it fortified with Fort St. Michael ; the area was henceforth called Senglea. The headlands were soon overpopulated and the area in between grew into a new town, which the Johanniter called Cospicua . These three cities are older than Valletta and are known as the "Three Cities" or Cottonera .
Web links
- Port of Valletta. Transport Malta, 2019(English).
Coordinates: 35 ° 53 ′ 37 ″ N , 14 ° 30 ′ 53 ″ E