The Malta at War Museum is a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

Birgu Birgu ( mt, Il-Birgu , it, Vittoriosa), also known by its title Città Vittoriosa ("''Victorious City''"), is an old fortified city on the south side of the Grand Harbour in the South Eastern Region of Malta. The city occupies a promontory of ...

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 ...

, which is dedicated to Malta's role in

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 museum is housed within a

barrack Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are u ...

block and a rock-hewn

air-raid shelter Air raid shelters are structures for the protection of non-combatants as well as combatants against enemy attacks from the air. They are similar to bunkers in many regards, although they are not designed to defend against ground attack (but many ...

within Couvre Porte Counterguard.

Location

The museum is housed within the Couvre Porte, a 17th-century

counterguard The counterguard (german: Kontergarde, french: contre-garde) is an outwork in a bastioned fortification system that usually comprises only a low rampart and which is sited in front of the actual fortress moat that runs around the bastions or rave ...

forming part of the

fortifications of Birgu The fortifications of Birgu ( mt, 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 ...

. In the 18th century,

casemate A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which artillery, guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary When referring to Ancient history, antiquity, th ...

s were built within the counterguard, and these were later converted into the barracks. During

, the barracks were used as a police headquarters, and later as a civil defence centre. At this point,

s for the population of Birgu were dug in the rocks beneath the counterguard. Today, the barracks and shelters all form part of the museum.

Collections

The Malta at War Museum's collection consists of memorabilia such as weapons, uniforms, medals, documents and other items. It also features original film footage of the war, such as the 1943

propaganda film A propaganda film is a film that involves some form of propaganda. Propaganda films spread and promote certain ideas that are usually religious, political, or cultural in nature. A propaganda film is made with the intent that the viewer will ad ...

''Malta G.C.'' The museum was renovated and enlarged between September 2011 and April 2012.

References

Museums in Malta Buildings and structures in Birgu World War II museums World War II sites in Malta Air raid shelters {{Malta-geo-stub

Location

Collections

See also

References