Grand Harbour | |
---|---|
Location | |
Country | Malta |
Location | Southern Harbour Area |
Details | |
Type of harbour | coastal natural |
Size of harbour | 2,035,000 square metres (503 acres) |
Maximum Length | 3.63 kilometres (2.26 mi) |
Maximum Width | 1.33 kilometres (0.83 mi) |
Average Depth | 7.7 metres (25 ft) |
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations .(June 2021) |
The Grand Harbour (Maltese : il-Port il-Kbir; Italian : Porto Grande), also known as the Port of Marsa, [1] is a natural harbour on the island of Malta. It has been substantially modified over the years with extensive docks (Malta Dockyard), wharves, and fortifications. [2]
The harbour mouth faces north-east and is bounded to the north by Saint Elmo Point and further sheltered by an isolated breakwater and is bounded to the south by Ricasoli Point. Its north-western shore is formed by the Sciberras peninsula, which is largely covered by the city of Valletta and its suburb Floriana. This peninsula also divides Grand Harbour from a second parallel natural harbour, Marsamxett Harbour. The main waterway of Grand Harbour continues inland almost to Marsa. The southeastern shore of the harbour is formed by a number of inlets and headlands, principally Rinella Creek, Kalkara Creek, Dockyard Creek, and French Creek, which are covered by Kalkara and the Three Cities: Cospicua, Vittoriosa, and Senglea. The harbour has been described as Malta's greatest geographic asset. [3]
With its partner harbour of Marsamxett, Grand Harbour lies at the centre of gently rising ground. Settlements have grown all around the twin harbours and up the slopes so that the whole bowl is effectively one large conurbation. Much of Malta's population lives within a three kilometer radius of Floriana. This is now one of the most densely populated areas in Europe. The harbours and the surrounding areas make up Malta's Northern and Southern Harbour Districts. Together, these districts contain 27 of the 68 local councils. They have a population of 213,722 which is over 47% of the total population of the Maltese islands. [4]
The Maltese islands have a long history, mainly due to their strategic location and natural harbours, mainly the Grand Harbour as well as Marsamxett. The Grand Harbour has been used since prehistoric times.
Megalithic remains have been found on the shores of the Grand Harbour. The Kordin Temples, the earliest of which date back to around 3700 BC, overlooked the harbour from Corradino Heights. [5] Another megalithic structure possibly existed underwater off Fort Saint Angelo, but this can no longer be seen. [6] Punic and Roman remains were also found on the shores of the harbour, [5] with the main Carthaginian port at Cospicua possibly having been the original namesake of the island in Greek and Latin.
By the 12th and 13th centuries, the Castrum Maris had been built in what is now Birgu. It might have been built instead of ancient buildings, possibly Phoenician or Roman temples, or an Arab fortress. [7]
In 1283, the Battle of Malta was fought at the entrance of the Grand Harbour. Aragonese forces defeated a larger Angevin force and captured 10 galleys. [8]
The Grand Harbour was the base for the Order of Saint John for 268 years, from 1530 to 1798. They settled in the city of Birgu and improved its fortifications, including rebuilding the Castrum Maris as Fort Saint Angelo. In July 1551, Barbary corsairs and Ottoman forces raided Malta. They landed at Marsamxett and marched upon the Grand Harbour, but did not attack as they found the town of Birgu too well fortified to attack. Although this attempt was unsuccessful, the Ottoman force later managed to sack Gozo and conquer Tripoli within the same campaign. After the attack, Fort Saint Elmo and Fort Saint Michael were built to better protect the harbour in any future attacks. The city of Senglea was also founded soon afterwards.
Later on in the 1550s, a tornado struck the Grand Harbour, killing 600 people and destroying a shipping armada.
The area was the scene of much of the fighting in the Great Siege of Malta of 1565 when the Ottomans attempted to eject the Order of St John but were ultimately defeated. After the siege, the capital city of Valletta was built on the Sciberras peninsula on the north west shore of the harbour. Over the years, more fortifications and settlements were founded within the Grand Harbour, including Fort Ricasoli and the towns of Floriana and Cospicua.
During the French occupation of Malta, the harbour area was blockaded by Maltese rebels on land and the Royal Navy at sea. The French eventually capitulated in September 1800 and Malta became a British protectorate, later a colony. During the British colonial rule, the harbour became a strategic base for the Royal Navy and the base of the Mediterranean Fleet.
The whole area was savagely bombed during the Second Siege of Malta during World War II, as the docks and military installations around the port became targets for Axis bombers. However collateral damage wrecked much of Valletta and The Three Cities, and caused large numbers of civilian casualties. An Italian naval raid on the harbour was repelled on the early of 26 July 1941.
Malta Dockyard is still active but with the departure of the British Military the harbour lost much of its military significance. A considerable part of Malta's commercial shipping is now handled by the new free port at Kalafrana, so the harbour is much quieter than it was in the first half of the 20th century. [9]
In September 2007, the Maltese Government unveiled 20 proposed regeneration projects that would revamp the area while respecting its historic value. [10]
As of May 2021 the harbour is undergoing renovation works initiated by Infrastructure Malta and sponsored by the European Union with the goals of electrifying the harbour to produce a 90% decrease in harmful emissions from ships. Shorepower units are to be installed to eliminate the need for fossil fuel-powered engines to run while ships are docked. [11]
Birgu, also known by its title Città Vittoriosa, is an old fortified city on the south side of the Grand Harbour in the South Eastern Region of Malta. The city occupies a promontory of land with Fort Saint Angelo at its head and the city of Cospicua at its base. Birgu is ideally situated for safe anchorage, and over time it has developed a very long history with maritime, mercantile and military activities.
Kalkara is a village in the South Eastern Region of Malta, with a population of 3,014 as of March 2014. The name is derived from the Latin word for lime (Calce), and it is believed that there was a lime kiln present there since Roman times. Kalkara forms part of the inner harbour area and occupies the area around Kalkara Creek. The town has its own Local Council and is bordered by the cities of Birgu and Żabbar, as well as the town of Xgħajra.
Cospicua (Italian) or Bormla, occasionally also known by the Latin name Cottonera, is a double-fortified harbour city in the Port Region of Malta. As Maleth, it served as the principal port of Phoenician Malta and, through Greek, Latin, and Arabic, may have given its name to the island and country. Along with Birgu and Senglea, it is one of the Three Cities located within the Grand Harbour to the east of the capital city Valletta. With a population of 5,395 as of March 2014, it is the most dense city of the Three Cities. Locals are known for their Cottonera dialect.
Fort Saint Elmo is a star fort in Valletta, Malta. It stands on the seaward shore of the Sciberras Peninsula that divides Marsamxett Harbour from Grand Harbour, and commands the entrances to both harbours along with Fort Tigné and Fort Ricasoli. It is best known for its role in the Great Siege of Malta in 1565.
The Three Cities is a collective description of the three fortified cities of Vittoriosa, Senglea and Cospicua in Malta. The oldest of the Three Cities is Vittoriosa, which has existed since prior to the Middle Ages. The other two cities, Senglea and Cospicua, were both founded by the Order of Saint John in the 16th and 17th centuries. The Three Cities are enclosed by the Cottonera Lines, along with several other fortifications. The term Cottonera is synonymous with the Three Cities, although it is sometimes taken to also include the nearby town of Kalkara.
Victory Day is a public holiday celebrated in Malta on 8 September and recalls the end of three historical sieges made on the Maltese archipelago, namely: the Great Siege of Malta by the Ottoman Empire ending in 1565; the Siege of Valletta by the French Blockade ending in 1800; and, the Siege of Malta during the Second World War by the Axis forces ending in 1943.
Marsamxett Harbour, historically also referred to as Marsamuscetto, is a natural harbour on the island of Malta. It is located to the north of the larger Grand Harbour. The harbour is generally more dedicated to leisure use than the Grand Harbour.
Malta is for non-local government purposes divided into districts as opposed to the local government regions at the same level. The three main types of such districts – statistical, electoral at national level, and policing – have no mainstream administrative effect as the regions and local councils function as the only administrative divisions of the country.
This page list topics related to Malta.
The coastline of Malta consists of bays, sandy beaches, creeks, harbours, small villages, cities, cliffs, valleys, and other interesting sites. Here, there is a list of these different natural features that are found around the coast of Malta.
Post codes in Malta are seven-character strings that form part of a postal address in Malta. Post codes were first introduced in 1991 by the mail operator MaltaPost. Like those in the United Kingdom and Canada, they are alphanumeric.
In Malta, most of the main roads are in the outskirts of the localities to connect one urban area with another urban area. The most important roads are those that connect the south of the island with the northern part, like Tal-Barrani Road, Aldo Moro Street in Marsa and Birkirkara Bypass.
Malta Xlokk, also known as the South Eastern Region, was a region of Malta between 1993 and 2009. It was located on the main island of Malta, bordering Malta Majjistral. It included the capital Valletta. The name referred to the Sirocco wind, which is Xlokk in Maltese.
Hospitaller Malta, known in Maltese history as the Knights' Period, was a de facto state which existed between 1530 and 1798 when the Mediterranean islands of Malta and Gozo were ruled by the Order of St. John of Jerusalem. It was formally a vassal state of the Kingdom of Sicily, and it came into being when Emperor Charles V granted the islands as well as the city of Tripoli in modern Libya to the Order, following the latter's loss of Rhodes in 1522. Hospitaller Tripoli was lost to the Ottoman Empire in 1551, but an Ottoman attempt to take Malta in 1565 failed.
The fortifications of Malta consist of a number of walled cities, citadels, forts, towers, batteries, redoubts, entrenchments and pillboxes. The fortifications were built over hundreds of years, from around 1450 BC to the mid-20th century, and they are a result of the Maltese islands' strategic position and natural harbours, which have made them very desirable for various powers.
The South Eastern Region is a former region of Malta. The region included the southeastern part of the main island of Malta, including the capital Valletta. The region bordered the Central and Southern Regions.
The French invasion of Malta was the successful invasion of the islands of Malta and Gozo, then ruled by the Order of St. John, by the French First Republic led by Napoleon Bonaparte in June 1798 as part of the Mediterranean campaign of the French Revolutionary Wars.
The Maltese National Regatta is a fixed-seat rowing regatta held bi-annually on 31 March Freedom Day to commemorate the withdrawal of the British troops and the Royal Navy from Malta and on 8 September Victory Day respectively. The Regatta pitches 8 participants against each other over 11 Malta Traditional Regatta Races of 1,040 meters each spanning two categories and the women race. The Regatta is held in the Grand Harbour and being a national event, it draws thousands of spectators year after year.
The 1813–1814 Malta plague epidemic was the last major outbreak of plague on the islands of Malta and Gozo. It occurred between March 1813 and January 1814 on Malta and between February and May 1814 on Gozo, and the epidemic was officially declared to be over in September 1814. It resulted in approximately 4500 deaths, which was about 5% of the islands' population.
The Port Region is one of the six regions of Malta. The region is located in the southeastern part of the main island of Malta. The region borders the Eastern and Southern Regions.