Malta · 17th century
The fortifications of Birgu (Maltese: Is-Swar tal-Birgu) are a series of defensive walls and other fortifications which surround the city of Birgu, Malta. The first fortification to be built was Fort Saint Angelo in the Middle Ages, and the majority of the fortifications were built between the 16th and 18th centuries by the Order of Saint John. Most of the fortifications remain largely intact today.
Birgu's fortifications have been on Malta's tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 1998, as part of the Knights' Fortifications around the Harbours of Malta. They are also listed as monuments in Birgu as part the National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands (NICPMI).
Text adapted from “Fortifications of Birgu” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Fortifications of Birgu ranks #7,524 of 9,079 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #39 of the 39 mapped in Malta. Founded 1691, it is older than 22% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 721 atlas entries founded in the 17th century. 35 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. See how Malta compares in the castle statistics.
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