Tal-Wejter Tower ( mt, Torri tal-Wejter - It-Torri Wejter) is a tower in

Birkirkara Birkirkara (abbreviated as B'Kara) is a city in the central region of Malta. It is the second most populous on the island, with 24,356 inhabitants as of 2020. The town consists of five autonomous parishes: Saint Helen, Saint Joseph the Worker, Ou ...

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 was built in the early 18th century by the

Order of Saint John The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headq ...

. It is also known locally as ''it-Torri tal-Misħun'' (English: ''Boiling Water Tower''), a reference to its

machicolation A machicolation (french: mâchicoulis) is a floor opening between the supporting corbels of a battlement, through which stones or other material, such as boiling water, hot sand, quicklime or boiling cooking oil, could be dropped on attackers at t ...

s which are known as ''galleriji tal-misħun'' in Maltese. The tower was partially demolished in the 1960s, but it was later rebuilt. Today, it is in a rather dilapidated state.

History

The area where the tower is found was known as Għassiewi, meaning guarded place. Till the late 20th century, the community was known as Tal-Wejter. The nearby valley was known as Tal-Wejter Valley. Tal-Wejter Tower was commissioned by Grand Master Ramon Perellos y Roccaful, and it was built in the early 18th century. The tower stood on the road leading from San Ġwann and St. Julian's to

. This area is now built up and the tower is surrounded by modern buildings. The tower was built to watch over the inland areas in the surrounding region of Birkirkara and to bridge the site of the Birkirkara Tower and

Floriana Floriana ( mt, Il-Furjana or ''Il-Floriana''), also known by its title Borgo Vilhena, is a fortified town in the South Eastern Region area of Malta, just outside the capital city Valletta. It has a population of 2,205 as of March 2014. Floriana i ...

. The project took place on the recommendations by Captain Foulet and Commander D'Argens, who were French knights of the Order of St. John. Part of the tower was illegally demolished in 1968, but it was later rebuilt. Today, the tower is still intact but it is deteriorating and it is feared that it might collapse. The building is privately owned, and it is currently for sale. It was scheduled as a Grade 2 national monument by the

Malta Environment and Planning Authority The Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA, mt, L-Awtorità ta' Malta dwar l-Ambjent u l-Ippjanar) was the national agency responsible for the environment and planning in Malta. It was established to regulate the environment and planning ...

in 2012.

Architecture

Tal-Wejter Tower from the back, Birkirkara Malta

Tal-Wejter Tower was originally a two-story high tower with a high parapet wall at roof level. After being partially dismantled and rebuilt, a ceiling was added to the high wall and it now has three floors. It has a square base, with a room on each of the three floors. The upper floor is separated by a moulded string course. Each façade of the tower originally had box

s. The entrance to the tower is through an arched doorway built in the medieval style. The building is now engulfed between later built housing residences. It is privately owned.

References

{{Historic Watch Towers of Malta Fortified towers in Malta Birkirkara Limestone buildings in Malta Hospitaller fortifications in Malta

History

Architecture

See also

References