The underground War HQ tunnels in Valletta will be open for viewing tomorrow.
Tours to the battery will be organised by Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna to the tunnels and the saluting at 10 and 11am and 1 p.m. The former War HQ tunnels will be open from 2p.m. to 5 p.m.
A salute will be fired by all the saluting guns at Noon.
The origins of the Saluting Battery go back to the founding of Valletta in 1566. The battery continued to be used till 1954. Gun salutes were fired to greet visiting dignitaries and ships but also to announce important naval or military victories, the birth of royal princes in Europe and to mark important state occasions or public or religious festivals in Malta.
A gun was also fired to signal time at sunrise, mid-day and sunset and also to announce the departure of a ship from the harbour.
In 2004, the Saluting Battery was restored by Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna with assistance from the Malta Tourism Authority and the Bank of Valletta and later through European Regional Development Funds. Today it attracts some 700,000 viewers annually and is considered as one of the most popular cultural attractions in Malta.
The underground War HQ tunnels under the Upper Barrakka along with the St. Peter and Paul Counter-guard will be opened from 2.00pm onwards. Both heritage properties have been undergoing restoration for the past two years by FWA with funds received through the European Regional Development Funds.
This work is almost complete and this occasion will serve as an opportunity to the public to see what has so far been achieved. The War HQ tunnels are located deep under the Upper Barrakka.
Between 1940 and 1977 they housed the underground British War Headquarters. The first part of the main tunnel dates back to the Knights. The complex is spread over an area of 28,000 square meters which makes it the largest underground property in Malta.
In its heyday it housed a series of operation rooms used by the three services, communication facilities, dormitories, offices, stores etc. This place was actively used through the Battle for Malta (1940 -42) and later in the invasion of Sicily, Suez and the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Access to these tunnels will take place from the Saluting Battery from where the tours to the same will commence. The entrance fee for all three heritage sites (Saluting Battery, War HQ tunnels and the Counter-guard) will be €5 for adults and €2 for children.