Fortifications of Gibraltar
The fortifications of Gibraltar have made the Rock of Gibraltar and its environs "probably the most fought over and most densely fortified place in Europe, and probably, therefore, in the world", as Field Marshal Sir John Chapple has put it. The Gibraltar peninsula, located at the far southern end of Iberia, has great strategic importance as a result of its position by the Strait of Gibraltar where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean. It has repeatedly been contested between European and North African powers and has endured fourteen sieges since it was first settled in the 11th century. The peninsula's occupants – Moors, Spanish, and British – have built successive layers of fortifications and defences including walls, bastions, casemates, gun batteries, magazines, tunnels and galleries. At their peak in 1865, the fortifications housed around 681 guns mounted in 110 batteries and positions, guarding all land and sea approaches to Gibraltar. The fortifications continued to be in military use until as late as the 1970s and by the time tunnelling ceased in the late 1960s, over 34 miles (55 km) of galleries had been dug in an area of only 2.6 square miles (6.7 km2).
Gibraltar's fortifications are clustered in three main areas. The densest fortifications are in the area where historically Gibraltar was under the most threat – at the north end of the peninsula, the North Front, facing the isthmus with Spain. Another group of fortifications guards the town and the harbour, referred to as the West Side. The southern end of the town is guarded by the South Land Front. Few fortifications exist on the east side, as the sheer cliff of the Rock of Gibraltar is a virtually impassable obstacle. Further fortifications occupy the plateaus of Windmill Hill and Europa Point at the southern end of the peninsula. Lookout posts and batteries on the summits of the Rock provide a 360° view across the Strait and far into Spain. Although Gibraltar is now largely demilitarised, many of the fortifications are still intact and some, such as the Great Siege Tunnels and the Charles V Wall – where many of Gibraltar's famous "apes" live – have become tourist attractions.
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