Fort Rinella
A Victorian coastal battery built around a single hundred-ton gun, one of two such weapons surviving.
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Fort Rinella was built by the British in the 1880s for one weapon: an Armstrong hundred-ton gun, a muzzle-loading rifle firing a shell of about a tonne, of which four were made for Malta and Gibraltar and two survive. The whole fort is essentially a machine for working it, with steam-powered hydraulics for loading and traversing. It is run by a heritage organisation with costumed demonstrations of drill, musketry and cannon firing.
What you actually see
- The hundred-ton gun - an 1880s Armstrong weapon, one of only two surviving.
- The hydraulic machinery - the steam-powered system for loading and traversing.
- The drill demonstrations - costumed displays of Victorian garrison routine.
- The magazine - the shell and charge stores serving the gun.
When to go
Year round; demonstrations run at set times on show days and not every day. Mornings are quieter. Winter hours are shorter.
Honest expectations
The main demonstration runs once a day and missing it leaves much less to see. It is run by volunteers and opening can vary. The site is small.
Nearby
Birgu is west, and the Three Cities are beyond it.
What to pack for Fort Rinella
Chosen from what this place is for. Tap a kit for the full checklist.
Opening times, ticket prices and seasonal closures change - check the official source before you go: official site.