Birgu is ideally situated for safe anchorage, and over time it has developed a very long history with maritime, mercantile and military activities.

Prior to the establishment of Valletta as capital and main city of Malta, military powers that wanted to rule the Maltese islands would need to obtain control of Birgu due to its significant position in the Grand Harbour.

In fact, it served as the base of the Order of Saint John and de facto capital city of Malta from 1530 to 1571.

[1] Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Normans, the Angevines, the Aragonese and the Order of Saint John all contributed to the development of Birgu.

In the Middle Ages, the islands' communal organisation in this period pitted the Mdina town-council, or Universitas, against the independent entity centred around the Castrum Maris.

Many inhabitants of Birgu, and the neighbouring villages argued that they were not liable to pay taxes to the Mdina town-council, as they fell within Castrum Maris jurisdiction.

[4] After being driven out of Rhodes by the Ottoman Empire, the Order of Saint John were granted Malta as their new home.

This included the construction of the Castle of St Angelo, a large fortification separated from the city by a narrow channel, instead of the ancient Castrum Maris.

[8] Birgu was the site of major battles between the Knights and the Ottoman Empire during the Great Siege of Malta in 1565.

A number of historic buildings were destroyed, including the Birgu Clock Tower and the Auberge d'Allemagne.

This agreement, which has a duration of 99 years, grants the Knights of Malta the exclusive use of Fort St. Angelo in Birgu.

[16] The central piazza in Birgu was badly damaged by bombing during World War II, but one 19th-century palace thought to have been designed by Giuseppe Bonavia survives, and is used as the headquarters of the St Lawrence Band Club.

Architect Lorenzo Gafà (1638–1703), who worked on a number of churches in Malta including St. Paul's Cathedral in Mdina, was born in Birgu.

[23] Prospero Grech (1925–2019) was an Augustinian friar, who co-founded the Patristic Institute Augustinianum in Rome and was created a cardinal in 2012.