Fort Manoel

Fort Manoel (Maltese: Forti Manoel or Fortizza Manoel) is a star fort on Manoel Island in Gżira, Malta. It was built in the 18th century by the Order of Saint John, during the reign of Grand Master António Manoel de Vilhena, after whom it is named. Fort Manoel is located to the north west of Valletta, and commands Marsamxett Harbour and the anchorage of Sliema Creek. The fort is an example of Baroque architecture, and was designed with both functionality and aesthetics in mind.

After a brief French occupation which began in 1798, the British military took over the fort in 1800, and it remained in their use until 1964. The fort was severely damaged in World War II, but it was restored in the early 21st century and is now in good condition.

Fort Manoel has been on Malta's tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 1998, as part of the Knights' Fortifications around the Harbours of Malta.

Text adapted from “Fort Manoel” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Fort Manoel ranks #1,518 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #7 of the 19 mapped in Malta. Founded 1723, it is older than 21% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 525 atlas entries founded in the 18th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 2,916 times in the last 60 days, more than 74% of the atlas. 16 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. See how Malta compares in the castle statistics.

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Read the full history on Wikipedia ↗