To commemorate the anniversary of the last firing of the Armstrong 100-ton gun in 1905, Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna is holding a Heritage Day at Fort Rinella in Kalkara on Sunday from 10am to 4pm.

The public will have the opportunity to latest restoration projects, including the engine room, which has been equipped with most of its original Victorian machinery.

The system provided four hours of continued power to traverse the monster gun, load it and fire.

The gun fired a one-ton shell every six minutes to a range of eight miles, making it and other ones like it the first mechanical guns in history.

This engine room restoration has so far cost €100,000 and is the first phase of the restoration of the actual gun to full functionality, making it unique in the world. The only other such gun left is in Gibraltar.

The Heritage Day, for which the entrance fee has been reduced to €10 for adults and is free for children under 16 if accompanied by adults, will include guided tours, historical reenactments, historic food, a history book sale and activities for children.

There will also be special viewing of the engine room display.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.