Qolla l-Bajda Battery ( mt, Batterija tal-Qolla l-Bajda or ) is 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 ...

in Żebbuġ,

Gozo Gozo (, ), Maltese: ''Għawdex'' () and in antiquity known as Gaulos ( xpu, 𐤂𐤅𐤋, ; grc, Γαῦλος, Gaúlos), is an island in the Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the Republic of Malta. After t ...

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 by the Order of Saint John between 1715 and 1716 as one of a series of coastal fortifications around the coasts of the Maltese Islands. It retained its original layout until the late 1970s, when it was converted into a discothèque and snack bar known as Rook (after the

chess piece A chess piece, or chessman, is a game piece that is placed on a chessboard to play the game of chess. It can be either White and Black in chess, white or black, and it can be one of six types: King (chess), king, Queen (chess), queen, Rook (chess ...

) and major alterations were made to the battery. The building is now abandoned and in a dilapidated state, being in the midst of a legal battle between the government and a private company. Qolla l-Bajda Battery is one of only two surviving batteries on Gozo, the other one being

Saint Anthony's Battery Saint Anthony's Battery ( mt, Batterija ta' Sant'Antnin) is an artillery battery in Qala, Gozo, Malta. It was built by the Order of Saint John between 1731 and 1732 as one of a series of coastal fortifications around the coasts of the Maltese I ...

in Qala. It is not far from the northernmost point of the island, Reqqa Point, and as such it is the northernmost fortification in Malta. The battery is also known by a number of other names, including Xwejni Battery ( mt, Batterija tax-Xwejni), Qbajjar Battery ( mt, Batterija tal-Qbajjar) or the ''Castello''.

History

Qolla l-Bajda Battery was built by the Order of Saint John in 1716 on the spur of land between the bays of Xwejni and

Qbajjar Qbajjar Bay ( mt, Il-Qbajjar) is a small bay near Marsalforn, in the limits of Żebbuġ on the island of Gozo, Malta, this small bay is part of Marsalforn. It is located between Xwejni Bay to the west, and Marsalforn Bay to the east. The 18th ...

. It was named after a nearby hillock known as ''Qolla l-Bajda'' (the White Hillock). It was designed by the military engineers Jacques de Camus d'Arginy and Bernard de Fontet. The battery is the only surviving part of a chain of fortifications that defended Marsalforn and nearby bays from Ottoman or Barbary attacks. The other

towers A tower is a tall structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting structures. Towers are specifica ...

, batteries, redoubts and entrenchments were all demolished or destroyed. The battery consists of a semi-circular gun platform ringed by a parapet with six embrasures, and two blockhouses joined together by a wall. The blockhouses had musketry loopholes intended to protect the battery from a land attack. A ramp originally led to the entrance, which is located between the blockhouses. The battery's seaward side is protected by a small ditch, and salt pans are located close by. It was initially armed with six guns, but in 1770, its armament consisted of four 6-pounder guns with 276 rounds of roundshot and 60 rounds of grapeshot. The battery was abandoned in the 19th century, but was again used as Observation Post No. 5 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 ...

Recent history

In 1978, the government leased the battery to Francis Vella, and it was converted into a discothèque and snack bar. At this point, some structures were built on the gun platform, the entrance was enlarged, and the ramp leading to it was replaced by a flight of steps. The emphyteusis was transferred to Rook Limited in 1981, and the lease expired in February 2003, but the company continued to occupy the battery. It was subsequently abandoned and it fell into a state of disrepair. The area around it, including the salt pans, is also in a dilapidated state. The 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 ...

has asked for permission to take over the battery and restore it. In response, the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage made a request to the Land Department, which issued an eviction order against Rook Limited in 2007. Since then, the battery has been in the midst of a legal battle between the government and the company. The battery was vandalized several times, including in 2013 when graffiti were sprayed over the facade. This has since been removed.

References

External links

National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese IslandsPhotos of Il-Qolla l-Bajda Battery May 2016
{{Batteries in Malta Batteries in Malta Hospitaller fortifications in Malta Military installations established in 1716 Żebbuġ, Gozo Defunct nightclubs Limestone buildings in Malta National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands 18th-century fortifications 18th Century military history of Malta