Fort Benghisa ( mt, Il-Fortizza ta' Bengħisa) is a

polygonal fort A polygonal fort is a type of fortification originating in France in the late 18th century and fully developed in Germany in the first half of the 19th century. Unlike earlier forts, polygonal forts had no bastions, which had proved to be vulnerabl ...

Birżebbuġa Birżebbuġa (; sometimes shortened to B'Buġa) is a seaside town in the Southern Region of Malta, close to Marsaxlokk. It is approximately from the capital Valletta, and it has a population of 9,736 as of March 2014. The town is popular amon ...

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 between 1910 and 1912 by the British on high ground on the seaward face of Benghisa Point, the southern arm of

Marsaxlokk Bay Marsaxlokk () is a small, traditional fishing village in the South Eastern Region of Malta. It has a harbour, and is a tourist attraction known for its views, fishermen and history. As at March 2014, the village had a population of 3,534. The ...

. It is the southernmost fortification in Malta. It was part of a chain of fortifications intended to protect Marsaxlokk Harbour, along with

Fort Delimara Fort Delimara ( mt, Il-Fortizza ta' Delimara) is a polygonal fort in Marsaxlokk, Malta. It was built between 1876 and 1888 by the British as part of a chain of fortifications intended to protect Marsaxlokk Harbour. Today, the fort is still intact ...

and Fort Tas-Silġ on Delimara point, the north arm of Marsaxlokk Bay,

Fort San Lucian Fort San Lucian ( mt, Forti San Luċjan), also known as Saint Lucian Tower ( mt, Torri ta' San Luċjan) or Fort Rohan ( mt, Forti Rohan), is a large bastioned watchtower and polygonal fort in Marsaxlokk, Malta. The original tower was built by th ...

on Kbira point in the middle of the bay, and the

Pinto Pinto is a Portuguese language, Portuguese, Spanish language, Spanish, Sephardi Jews, Jewish (Sephardic), and Italian language, Italian surname. It is a high-frequency surname in all List of countries and territories where Portuguese is an officia ...

and Ferretti batteries on the coast.

History

Malta - Birzebbuga - Triq Benghajsa - Fort Benghajsa 06 ies

Initially, a battery called Hassan Battery was proposed at Benghisa Point. However, the design was developed into a

in 1909. Construction started in 1910 and was completed in 1912. The fort was armed with two

6 inch "6 Inch" is a song by American singer Beyoncé featuring Canadian singer the Weeknd from the former's sixth studio album ''Lemonade'' (2016). The song's original portions were written by the artists alongside DannyBoyStyles, Ben Billions, The-Dream ...

and two 9.2 inch breech loading guns. The 17th-century

Bengħisa Tower Bengħisa Tower ( mt, Torri ta' Bengħisa), originally known as ''Torre di Benissa'' and also referred to as the Red Tower ( mt, Torri l-Aħmar), was a small watchtower in Bengħisa, limits of Birżebbuġa, Malta. It was built in 1659 as the seven ...

was demolished to clear Fort Benghisa's line of fire in 1915. The fort has a ditched pentagonal perimeter, with the perimeter wall and parapet being built from earth excavated during the building of the ditch. The cliffs on the seaward side were also used as part of the fort's defensive perimeter. Fort Benghisa was the last polygonal fort that the British built in Malta. The fort was rearmed prior to

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 ...

. In the 1950s,

dual purpose gun A dual-purpose gun is a naval artillery mounting designed to engage both surface and air targets. Description Second World War-era capital ships had four classes of artillery: the heavy main battery, intended to engage opposing battleships and ...

s were installed but these were dismantled soon after. It was finally abandoned by the British in the late 1970s.

Present day

The fort is currently in private hands and its interior is inaccessible. Part of the fort was rented in 1973 for an annual sum equivalent to €93, while other parts were rented out in 1981 and 1996 for an annual €177 and €419 respectively. The rents were renewed until 2011, when the government stopped accepting them with the intention to evict the tenants. The fort and its environs are currently in a state of neglect, although the gatehouse and the shoreward ditch are in decent shape..

References

Benghisa Buildings and structures completed in 1912 Birżebbuġa Benghisa Limestone buildings in Malta Military installations closed in the 1970s 1912 establishments in Malta 20th-century fortifications {{Malta-geo-stub