Birgu

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Birgu is a small town in Malta that played a vital role in the Siege of Malta in 1565. It is one of the three best-known cities on this small island nation.

The city was established on the Great Harbour of Malta around Fort St. Angelo, and served as Malta's principal harbour. When the Knights of St. John arrived in 1530, they made Birgu the capital city of Malta, since the former capital, Mdina, was inland and did not suit their naval requirements.

Fort St. Angelo

After the Siege of Malta in 1565, support for the previously impoverished knights flooded in from across Europe. As a result Grand Master Jean Parisot de la Valette was able to implement a long held goal of the knights: the building of a new fortified city on Mount Sceberras, the peninsula opposing Birgu from which the Turks had bombarded Birgu. The new capital city, bore his name, Valletta. After the Siege, the Knights also gave Birgu the title Città Vittoriosa, Italian for "victorious city".

The parish church is dedicated to St. Lawrence. The saint's day is celebrated on August 10.

After the taking of Malta by Napoleon in 1798, and his eviction by the Maltese with the help of the British, the British Navy made Birgu its base in the Mediterranean, and remained there until 1979.

Birgu has several tourist attractions: St Lawrence's Church, Fort St Angelo, the quirky but fun Vittoriosa 1565 museum, the Auberges of the Knights (not open to the public), and the Malta Maritime Museum.

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