Grand Casemates Square
View of Grand Casemates Square, looking northeast towards the Rock of Gibraltar (2007).
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| Former name(s) | La Barcina, La Esplanada |
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| Owner | Government of Gibraltar |
| Location | Gibraltar |
| Coordinates | 36°08′41″N 5°21′10″W / 36.1448°N 5.3528°WCoordinates: 36°08′41″N 5°21′10″W / 36.1448°N 5.3528°W |
Grand Casemates Square (colloquially Casemates Square or Casemates) is the larger of the two main squares within the city centre of Gibraltar (the other being John Mackintosh Square). The square takes its name from the British-built Grand Casemates, a casemate and bombproof barracks at the northern end of the square completed in 1817.
Located at the northern end of Main Street, the square is lined with numerous pubs, bars and restaurants and acts as the gateway into Gibraltar's city centre for most tourists.
Grand Casemates Square dates back to Gibraltar's Moorish period when the place was first fortified, making it as old as the city itself.
The square is built on sand that was once a beach. In May 1160 Moroccans sent by the Almohad ruler Abd al-Mu'min landed to lay the foundations of the first substantial settlement. This "City of Victory" (Medinat al-Fath) was small and included the area within the Moorish Castle and the land just below. It was this new ruler who changed the name of the rock to Jabal al-Fath meaning Mount of Conquest.
This land was an intertidal zone used by the Muslims to beach their galleys. After the Siege of Gibraltar in 1309, Ferdinand IV of Castile gave orders that a galley house be built where his ships could be repaired. This house gradually sank into the sand over the next few centuries.
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Wikipedia