St George's Tower
St George's Tower , also called St George's Bay Tower ( Maltese Torri tal-bajja ta 'San Ġorġ ), is a former watchtower built by the Order of St. John in the municipality of St. Julian's on the Maltese main island of Malta . He is one of the Lascaris towers and is 1-grade building under since 1995 as a monument .
history
The tower is one of the towers built under the reign of Grand Master Jean de Lascaris . It was built in 1638 in a shape similar to that of the neighboring Madliena Tower and, like the one, watched over St. George's Bay .
Over time, the St George's Tower has been redesigned several times and undergone significant structural changes, mainly on the upper floor and on the roof. Only the beveled lower half of the tower is still in its original condition. All other additions and modifications come from the British period. The British first used the tower as a lookout post until Fort Pembroke and the Pembroke Battery were built, then it served as a fire control center. During the Second World War , St George's Tower was a relay station for military radio communications. Thereafter, merchant ships were warned from there when the coastal artillery of the Pembroke Ranges fired, and the ships were instructed safe routes outside the target areas.
In 1997 the fire control station added by the British was removed and St George's Tower became part of a hotel complex .
literature
- Stephen C. Spiteri : Fortresses of the Cross. Hospitaller Military Architecture 1136–1798 . Heritage Interpretation Services, Malta 1994, ISBN 99909-965-3-9 , pp. 490 .
Web links
- Torri tal-bajja ta 'San Ġorġ / St George's Bay Tower. (PDF; 729 kB) In: National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands. Sovrintendenza tal-Patrimonju Kulturale, June 28, 2013, accessed on January 31, 2020 .
- St George's Tower, St George's Bay. In: The Times of Malta . March 2, 2010, accessed January 31, 2020 .
Coordinates: 35 ° 55 ′ 44.4 ″ N , 14 ° 29 ′ 27 ″ E