Fort San Salvatore

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Fort San Salvatore, also known as Fort Salvatore, is a retrenched fort in Birgu, Malta. It was built in 1724 on one of the bastions of the Cottonera Lines. It was used as a prisoner-of-war camp during the Greek War of Independence and World War I, and as an internment camp and kerosene depot in World War II.HistoryConstruction of the Cottonera Lines began in 1670, but work was suspended ten years later due to a lack of funds. By this time, the bastioned enceinte was complete, but other crucial parts such as cavaliers, ravelins, the ditch, the glacis and the covertway had not yet been built. In the early 18th century, some efforts were made to complete the lines, although they still lacked some crucial elements.In 1724, San Salvatore Bastion, the northernmost bastion of the Cottonera Lines and the closest to the city of Birgu, was converted into a retrenched fort by French military engineers. The fort has two demi-bastions linked by a curtain wall, all of which are surrounded by a ditch. A parade ground is located in the centre of the fort.The fort remained in use by the British in the 19th and 20th centuries. From 1824, it was used as a prisoner-of-war camp for Turkish prisoners during the Greek War of Independence. It became a POW camp once more when it housed German prisoners in World War I.

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