Malta

Victoria Lines Fortifications

WHS Score 0.19
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  • Adrian Turtschi
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  • Rafał Kałczuga
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The Victoria Lines is a fortification about ten kilometres long in the north-west of Malta. The defence line runs along the Great Fault, a natural barrier that stretches across the entire width of the island. The fortifications were built by the British in the second half of the 19th century and consist of three independent forts connected by a continuous wall.

Site Info

Official Information
Full Name
Victoria Lines Fortifications (ID: 1114)
Country
Malta
Status
On tentative list 1998 Site history
History of Victoria Lines Fortifications
1998: Added to Tentative List
Added to tentative list
Criteria
Links
UNESCO
whc.unesco.org
All Links
UNESCO.org

Community Reviews

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First published: 11/05/19.

Ralf Regele

Victoria Lines Fortifications

Victoria Lines Fortifications (On tentative list)

Victoria Lines Fortifications by Ralf Regele

To make it clear from the start: I think the Victoria Lines are a bad idea for a WHS. For my visit, I drove up to the Targa Batteries (which are signposted). It is the only part where some conservation efforts have been done by private enthusiasts. A friendly guy had me have a look around, but the gun positions are still just an overgrown pile of stones. This is private ground and not really open for tourists. The three main forts of the line all seem to be completely closed to tourists, so this is still the best possibility to see some of the fortification works up close. There is a path going along the fortification wall in the direction of Fort Bingemma, which actually makes for a nice hike. I walked along it for roughly one hour until I arrived at some intermediate hill battery, and you can see all three forts and more or less the complete fortification line from there. You can also see that there is not much to see of the fortifications. The views of the countryside are nice, though.

Though I had a good time hiking there, with no other tourists around and plenty of beautiful wilderness, I still think that this site definitely does not belong to the list. Now, purely military buildings are always a tough sell. In this case, it is even worse:
- The buildings have no aesthetic qualities, nor were ever intended to have any.
- The …

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