Aħrax Tower ( mt, Torri tal-Aħrax), originally known as ''Torre di Lacras'', and also known as Armier Tower ( mt, Torri tal-Armier), Ta' Ħoslien Tower ( mt, Torri ta' Ħoslien) or the White Tower ( mt, Torri l-Abjad), is a small

watchtower A watchtower or watch tower is a type of fortification used in many parts of the world. It differs from a regular tower in that its primary use is military and from a turret in that it is usually a freestanding structure. Its main purpose is to ...

overlooking

Armier Bay Armier Bay (in Maltese: ''Bajjet l-Armier''), is situated in the locality of Mellieħa, Malta. Armier Bay consists of two beaches, the biggest beach is known as Armier and the other one as Little Armier. The sea of this bay is crystal blue, like ...

in the limits of

Mellieħa Mellieħa ( mt, il-Mellieħa ) is a large village in the Northern Region of Malta. It has a population of 10,087 as of March 2014. Mellieħa is also a tourist resort, popular for its sandy beaches and natural environment. Etymology The name ''M ...

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. It was built in 1658 as the sixth of the

De Redin towers The De Redin Towers ( mt, Torrijiet ta' De Redin) are a series of small coastal watchtowers built in Malta by the Knights Hospitaller, Order of Saint John between 1658 and 1659. Thirteen towers were built around the coast of Malta (island), mainl ...

. An

artillery battery In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit or multiple systems of artillery, mortar systems, rocket artillery, multiple rocket launchers, surface-to-surface missiles, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, etc., so grouped to fac ...

was built around it in 1715. Today, the tower and battery are intact. After receiving 3 years of restoration work the tower was reopened to the public on the 9th of June 2021. Aħrax Tower is the northernmost fortification on the main island of Malta.

History

Aħrax Tower was built by November 1658 in the area known as "l-Aħrax tal-

". Construction had cost 589 scudi, 5 tari and 15 grani. Its structure is similar to the other De Redin towers, having a square base and two floors. However, the base of Aħrax Tower is slightly larger than some of the other towers. An escutcheon once stood over the main doorway with De Redin's coat of arms, although this is no longer in place. Just as was the case with

Għajn Ħadid Tower Għajn Ħadid Tower ( mt, Torri ta' Għajn Ħadid), originally known as ''Torre di Salomone'' and known by locals as Xagħra Tower ( mt, It-Torri tax-Xagħra), is a ruined watchtower in Selmun, limits of Mellieħa, Malta. It was built in 1658 as ...

, a well was located close to the tower to supply water to the militia stationed in the tower. Malta - Mellieha - Triq ir-Ramla tat-Torri l-Abjad - Armier Tower 07 ies

Malta - Mellieha - Triq ir-Ramla tat-Torri l-Abjad - Armier Tower 07 ies

In 1715, an

was built around the tower, and it was called Batteria della Harach. The battery consisted of a semicircular gun platform with an ''en barbette'' parapet, a blockhouse that was built on the western wall of the tower, and two walls linking the tower to the gun platform. It was surrounded by a rock hewn ditch. In the 1743 inspection, Aħrax Tower was armed with two bronze cannons, gun wheels and stocks, sixteen cannonballs, four muskets, one rotolo of musket balls and ten rotolos of gunpowder. Thirty years later, in 1770, the battery was armed with ten iron cannons with 700 iron balls and 150 grapeshot rounds. The gunpowder was stored in

Saint Agatha's Tower Saint Agatha's Tower ( mt, Torri ta' Sant'Agata), also known as the Red Tower ( mt, Torri l-Aħmar), Mellieħa Tower ( mt, Torri tal-Mellieħa) or Fort Saint Agatha ( mt, Forti Sant'Agata), is a large bastioned watchtower in Mellieħa, Malta. It w ...

. In the 19th century, the British used the tower as a naval station and they added several rooms to the tower's structure. At a point it served as the Governor's summer residence and a British coat of arms replaced De Redin's personal arms. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the tower was privately owned but it was eventually abandoned.

Present day

Malta - Mellieha - Triq ir-Ramla tat-Torri l-Abjad - Armier Tower in 01 ies

The area around the tower is now covered with concrete and the foundations of some walls of the battery have never been excavated. Over the years Aħrax Tower was heavily modified so it is now difficult to see which parts are original and which were added later. The battery remains largely intact, with the exception of one of the linking walls. In 2009, the tower was passed to the Mellieħa Local Council. In November 2016 the tower was granted to heritage NGO

Din l-Art Ħelwa () is a non-governmental and non-profit, voluntary organisation founded in 1965 by Maltese Judge Maurice Caruana Curran to safeguard Malta's cultural heritage and natural environment. Since its foundation, Din l-Art Ħelwa has restored numerous ...

for a loan period of 10 years, with the scope of this agreement being the conservation, restoration and rehabilitation of the building. The works were finished in June 2021 and the tower was reopened to the general public for educational purposes.

References

External links

National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese IslandsYouTube video showing a 3D model of Aħrax Tower and Battery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahrax Tower De Redin towers Batteries in Malta Towers completed in 1658 Official residences in Malta Mellieħa National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands 1658 establishments in Malta