Fort Madalena, also known as Fort Madliena ( mt, Il-Fortizza tal-Madliena), 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 ...

Madliena Madliena ( mt, Il-Madliena), formerly spelt Madalena, is an area in Swieqi, Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, ...

, limits of

Swieqi Swieqi ( mt, Is-Swieqi) is a town in the Northern Region of Malta. It is a residential area just 15 minutes by bus from Sliema and within walking distance of Malta's nightlife and entertainment centres, Paceville and St. Julian's. As the town ...

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 1878 and 1880 by the British as part of the

Victoria Lines The Victoria Lines, originally known as the North West Front, are a line of fortifications that spans 12 kilometres along the width of Malta, dividing the north of the island from the more heavily populated south. Location The Victoria Lines ru ...

. The fort now falls under the responsibility of the

Armed Forces of Malta The Armed Forces of Malta ( mt, Forzi Armati ta' Malta) is the name given to the combined armed services of Malta. The AFM is a brigade sized organisation consisting of a headquarters and three separate battalions, with minimal air and naval ...

and is used by the St John Rescue Corps.

History

Fort Madalena was built by the British as part of the

, a line of fortifications along the northern part of Malta, dividing it from the more heavily populated south. It is one of three forts built along the lines, the other two being Fort Binġemma and

Fort Mosta Fort Mosta (formerly written as Fort Musta, mt, Il-Fortizza tal-Mosta) is a polygonal fort in Mosta, Malta. It was built between 1878 and the 1880s by the British as part of the Victoria Lines. It is still in use today by the Armed Forces of Malt ...

. Fort Madalena, which is located at the eastern extremity of the line, was second of the forts to be built. It was built on the site of a fifteenth century chapel dedicated to

Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cru ...

, which gave the fort its name. Construction of the pentagonal fort began in 1878 and was completed in 1880, at a total cost of £9400. The fort itself is quite small, with the short sides of the pentagon being about 30 metres long. The entire fort is surrounded by a 6-metre deep and 4-metre wide ditch. It was armed with a single RML 11-inch gun, four 64-pounders, two 40-pounders and two field guns. Later on, an artillery battery was built around the pentagonal fort, facing the sea for coastal defence. The battery was armed with two BL 9.2-inch guns. In 1906, the RML 11-inch gun was replaced by BL 9.2-inch Mk X guns which had an effective range of about 8000 yards. Although the Victoria Lines were abandoned in 1907, Fort Madalena, along with Fort Binġemma, remained in use for coastal defence. Its guns were removed during the interwar period, and it was later used by the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

as a communications post, and then as a radar station during

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 radar station remained in use by NATO until British forces left Malta in 1979 and the fort was handed to the

Present day

Fort Madalena is still owned by the government and it falls under the responsibility of the 4th Regiment of the

. A VTMIS radar was installed in 2006. The fort is leased to the St John Rescue Corps, a volunteer civil defence organization, and is used as their headquarters and training school. The fort is in good condition although some parts are in need of restoration. It is open to the public on Saturday afternoons, or by appointment throughout the week. A wall near the fort's entrance partially collapsed during heavy rains in April 2019, and it began to be restored in June 2019.

References

{{Forts in Malta Infrastructure completed in 1880

Madalena Madalena is a feminine given name. It is a Portuguese form of Magdalene. It may refer to: People *Madalena Alberto, Portuguese actress, singer and composer * Madalena Boavida, East Timorese politician *Maddalena Casulana, (c. 1544–c. 1590), I ...

Batteries in Malta Swieqi

Radar stations World War II sites in Malta Military installations of NATO Limestone buildings in Malta 19th-century fortifications