Wilġa Battery
{{short description|Former artillery battery in Delimara, Marsaxlokk, Malta}}
{{Infobox military installation
| name = Wilġa Battery
| native_name = Batterija tal-Wilġa
| location = Marsaxlokk, Malta
| image = Wilga Battery.jpg
| image_size = 300px
| caption = Wilġa Battery's blockhouse
| map = Wilġa Battery map.png
| image_mapsize = 300px
| map_caption = Map of Wilġa Battery
| type = Artillery battery
| coordinates = {{coord|35|50|10.1|N|14|33|7.8|E|type:landmark|display=inline}}
| ownership = Government of Malta
| controlledby = Private owner
| open_to_public =
| built = 1714
| used =
| builder = Order of Saint John
| materials = Limestone
| height =
| fate = Partially demolished, 1994
| condition = Blockhouse intact
Gun platform largely destroyed
| battles =
| events =
}}
Wilġa Battery ({{langx|mt|Batterija tal-Wilġa}}), also known as Saint James Battery ({{langx|mt|Batterija ta' San Ġakbu}}) or Zondodari Battery ({{langx|mt|Batterija ta' Zondodari}}),{{cite book|last1=de Boisgelin|first1=Louis|title=Ancient and Modern Malta: Containing a Full and Accurate Account of the Present State of the Islands of Malta and Goza, the History of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, Also a Narrative of the Events which Attended the Capture of These Islands by the French, and Their Conquest by the English: and an Appendix, Containing Authentic State Papers and Other Documents - Volume II|date=1805|publisher=Richard Phillips|location=London|page=189|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZIU-AQAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA190}} is a former artillery battery in Delimara, Marsaxlokk, Malta. It was built in 1714 by the Order of Saint John as one of a series of coastal fortifications around the Maltese Islands. Today, the battery's gun platform is largely destroyed, but its blockhouse remains intact and has been restored.
History
Wilġa Battery was built in 1714 as part of a chain of fortifications that defended Marsaxlokk Bay, which also included six other batteries, the large St. Lucian Tower, two smaller De Redin towers, four redoubts and three entrenchments.{{cite web|title=Vendôme Tower|url=http://www.eh4-marenostrum.net/virtualtour/Marsaxlokk/trail_2/09/Vendome-Tower.pdf|website=Mare Nostrum|access-date=27 June 2015}} It is located on the Delimara peninsula, roughly opposite St. Lucian Tower, and between Del Fango Redoubt and Delimara Tower.
The battery originally consisted of a large pentagonal gun platform, which lacked a parapet, with an L-shaped blockhouse on one side of the platform.
Over time, the roof of the blockhouse collapsed, leaving the structure in ruins. Most of the gun platform was demolished in 1994 to make way for the new road to the nearby Delimara Power Station.{{cite web|title=Wilga Battery|url=http://www.maltamilitary.0catch.com/html/wilga_battery.html|website=maltamilitary.0catch.com|access-date=13 June 2015}}
The collapsed blockhouse of the battery was rebuilt. It was leased by the Lands Department to a private owner in 2004, and it is currently used for private functions.{{cite web|title=Delimara Gas and Power Combined Cycle Gas Turbine and Liquefied Natural Gas receiving, storage and re-gasification facilities - Environmental Impact Assessment - Appendix Two Volume One|url=http://www.mepa.org.mt/EIACMS/documents/Delimara/B02i_CCGT-LNG_DPS_EIS_App02i_ESRs_A4_Simplex.pdf|website=MEPA|publisher=ERSLI Consultants Ltd on behalf of Enemalta Corporation|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150329025345/http://www.mepa.org.mt/EIACMS/documents/Delimara/B02i_CCGT-LNG_DPS_EIS_App02i_ESRs_A4_Simplex.pdf|archive-date=29 March 2015|pages=24–25|date=20 December 2013}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{commons category}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20160124170318/http://www.culturalheritage.gov.mt/filebank/inventory/Knights%20Fortifications/1406.pdf National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands]
{{Batteries in Malta}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilga Battery}}
Category:Artillery battery fortifications in Malta
Category:Hospitaller fortifications in Malta
Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1714
Category:Buildings and structures demolished in 1994
Category:Limestone buildings in Malta
Category:National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands
Category:18th-century fortifications