Discover the places, events, traditions and stories that have shaped Gibraltar’s heritage, from the medieval period to the modern day, in this growing series of short films. Produced by the Ministry for Heritage, HM Government of Gibraltar, Gibraltar Heritage Stories brings the Ministry’s interpretation programme to life through short videos exploring the Rock’s historic buildings, fortifications, communities, traditions, landscapes and defining events. From medieval gates, churches and defensive structures to Gibraltar’s water supply, military history, social and industrial heritage, wartime experiences and changing communities, each film explores a different aspect of the people, places and events that have contributed to Gibraltar’s unique historical landscape. The series is based on the Ministry for Heritage’s programme of interpretation panels located at historic sites throughout Gibraltar.
How has the annual migration of bluefin tuna shaped life around the Strait of Gibraltar for thousands of years?
The Strait of Gibraltar has provided rich marine resources to the communities living along its shores since prehistoric times. By the Phoenician, Punic and Roman periods, fishing had developed on an industrial scale, supporting fish-salting factories around the Strait and the production of products such as garum.
One of the region’s most enduring fishing traditions is the almadraba, an ancient technique used to catch Atlantic bluefin tuna as they migrate through the Strait into the warmer waters of the Mediterranean to spawn. The tradition is reflected in local place names, including La Atunara and the former name of Catalan Bay, Caleta de la Almadraba. The word almadraba itself derives from Andalusi Arabic.
Traditionally, fishermen used an elaborate system of nets and observation points to locate and trap migrating tuna. Towers overlooking the Strait and Gibraltar’s eastern coastline may have been used to signal the movements of the shoals. Modern almadraba fishing continues the ancient principle, guiding tuna through a series of nets before the traditional levantá, when selected fish are brought to the surface.
The almadraba therefore represents far more than a method of fishing: it is part of a maritime tradition stretching back thousands of years and linking Gibraltar with the wider communities of the Strait.
Archaeological discoveries at Roman fish-processing sites around the Strait, including Baelo Claudia and Iulia Traducta in Algeciras, have revealed evidence that whaling formed part of the region’s ancient maritime economy. Whale bones recovered from these sites include those of grey whales and North Atlantic right whales, species that are no longer found in European waters.
In the early 20th century, commercial whaling returned to the area. In 1914, Norwegian businessman Carl Fredrik Herlofson established the Compañía Ballenera Española near Getares, although the First World War delayed operations until 1921. Whales were hunted principally for their oil, while other products included vitamin concentrates, insulin and ambergris for the perfume industry. Evidence of an earlier local connection with whaling survives in photographs of a remarkable whale-jaw arch in Gibraltar’s Alameda Gardens, dating to at least 1904.
The Getares operation was initially highly successful, recording 595 whales and 47 sperm whales in 1921 alone. Intensive hunting, however, rapidly reduced whale populations and the station closed in 1927. Later attempts to revive commercial whaling around the Strait during the mid-20th century ultimately met the same problem of declining numbers.
Today, sperm whales and fin whales can still be seen passing through the Strait of Gibraltar. Both face continuing pressures, including the danger of collision with the Strait’s exceptionally busy maritime traffic, making conservation an important part of their modern story.
How did Gibraltar’s principal gateway from the sea evolve over more than eight centuries?
A water gate has existed in this area since 1160, when the Almohad ruler Abd al-Mu’min ordered the first foundations of the settlement of Medinat al-Fath — the City of Victory. The beach in front of the old sea gate was used for beaching galleys, making this part of Gibraltar an important point of access between the fortified town and the Bay.
Following the Castilian capture of Gibraltar in 1309, King Ferdinand IV ordered the construction of a galley house or atarazana within the city walls. A new entrance, the Puerta de la Atarazana, was created large enough for Spanish galleys to be hauled through into the complex.
After 1704, the British rebuilt much of the deteriorated Moorish and Spanish Line Wall. A new Waterport Gate was constructed in 1727, allowing vessels to unload cargo from the Old Mole directly into the town and providing convenient access to the nearby naval victualling facilities. The gate was enlarged in 1824, and a second gateway was opened in 1884 to accommodate increasing vehicular traffic.
From a medieval sea gate to one of the principal entrances into Gibraltar, the Waterport Gates preserve the story of centuries of maritime activity, military engineering and the changing relationship between the city and its harbour.
Why was Gibraltar’s northern land gate deliberately so difficult to enter?
A land gate has existed on Gibraltar’s northern approaches since the Moorish and Spanish periods. Originally known as La Puerta de Tierra, it later became known as La Puerta de España. It was one of the principal entrances into the fortified city and formed part of a heavily defended gateway complex protected by a moat.
Its defensive purpose was demonstrated during the visit of King Philip IV of Spain in 1624. The sharp turns and narrow entrance made it impossible for the royal coach to pass through, forcing the King to enter Gibraltar on foot while the carriage was dismantled and reassembled on the other side. According to tradition, when criticised for the inconvenience, Gibraltar’s Corregidor replied that the gate had been designed to hinder an enemy, not to admit coaches.
In 1627, military engineer Luis Bravo de Acuña recommended major improvements to Gibraltar’s northern defences. His plans show La Puerta de España incorporated into the Muralla de San Bernardo, later known as the Grand Battery, and approached across a narrow stone bridge spanning a wide moat. The gateway was protected on either side by the Baluarte de San Pablo and Baluarte de San Pedro, later known as North Bastion and Hesse’s Demi-Bastion.
La Puerta de España therefore formed a vital part of the fortified northern entrance to Gibraltar, designed to control access to the city and resist attack from the isthmus.
How did Gibraltar’s only land entrance become one of the most heavily defended gateways in Europe?
Until the late 19th century, the Landport was Gibraltar’s only entrance by land. The present gateway dates principally from the 18th century, when Lieutenant Colonel Richard Kane ordered major improvements to Gibraltar’s northern defences in preparation for renewed Spanish attack. The older medieval gateway was demolished and replaced with a lower entrance that would be less vulnerable to enemy artillery.
Kane’s new defences were tested during the 1727 Siege of Gibraltar, when Spanish forces attempted unsuccessfully to breach the northern approaches. In 1730, the area in front of the defences was deliberately flooded to create an artificial inundation, forcing any attacking army onto a narrow causeway exposed to fire from Gibraltar’s batteries.
The Landport was protected by an elaborate system of walls, ditches, bastions, drawbridges and defensive obstacles. Its northern façade was redesigned in 1751 by Chief Engineer James Gabriel Montressor, and during the Great Siege the gateway was sealed for security while the surrounding approaches were further strengthened.
For centuries, anyone entering Gibraltar overland had to pass through this gateway. The Landport therefore represents not only a key element of Gibraltar’s fortifications, but also the historic threshold between the fortified city and the isthmus beyond.
How did Gibraltar’s inhabitants survive for centuries on a Rock with such a limited natural water supply?
For much of its early history, Gibraltar’s shortage of reliable fresh water limited permanent settlement. Natural springs and small pools existed, but these could diminish or disappear during hot summers and periods of low rainfall. Historical accounts nevertheless record freshwater springs around the Rock, including sources close to the sea and near the Charles V Wall.
One of Gibraltar’s oldest surviving water-storage structures is Nun’s Well, an underground cistern that may have developed from a natural cave or pool. It was expanded over time and served the small Muslim trading community associated with the Corral de Fez in the early 14th century. Contemporary writers praised its impressive underground arches and pillars.
The Muslim settlement on Gibraltar’s north-western slopes relied heavily on rainwater collection and shallow wells dug into the red sands. An aqueduct carried water from these sources towards the Moorish Baths, while a rainwater reservoir was also constructed within the Moorish Castle.
In 1571, during the Spanish period, this aqueduct system was extended to carry water from the red sands into the centre of the town. Stretching for more than 1,200 metres, it remained in use for almost three centuries. Today, only one of its access shafts, on Rosia Road, remains visible.
How did Gibraltar store enough water to survive before a modern public supply existed?
Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, Gibraltar depended heavily on the collection and storage of rainwater. The British military used large rooftop cisterns, while civilians often stored their limited supplies in barrels and large earthenware jars. When these ran dry, residents relied on water carriers who brought barrels of water from San Roque.
These storage methods also created serious health problems. Standing water in jars and cisterns provided breeding grounds for mosquitoes, contributing to outbreaks of yellow fever. The epidemic of 1804 was particularly severe, causing 5,733 deaths in a population of around 18,000.
In the early 19th century, the Royal Navy began developing major new storage facilities. Near the Victualling Yard, Giovanni Maria Boschetti constructed six underground chambers supplied by rainwater collected from surrounding roofs and purified through a series of settlement tanks. Later in the century, two large tanks were built along Europa Road, capable of holding around three million gallons, while another large reservoir was constructed near the Moorish Castle.
Despite these substantial military works, the needs of Gibraltar’s civilian population were often secondary. The growing demand for clean and reliable water would eventually drive major reforms in public health and lead to the development of new catchment, storage and distribution systems.
How did Gibraltar turn rainfall on the Rock itself into a vital source of drinking water?
A devastating cholera outbreak in 1865 led to the creation of Gibraltar’s Sanitary Commission and, in 1869, the introduction of the first Public Health Ordinance. Among the measures adopted was a requirement for new houses to include underground water tanks, while the authorities also began exploring safer and more reliable ways of supplying water to the civilian population.
One solution was the use of condensers to produce fresh water from seawater. Although initially rejected because of cost, by 1885 condensers were operating at Ragged Staff, producing around 27,000 gallons of fresh water a day. Because Gibraltar’s existing distribution system was designed for brackish water, however, fresh drinking water still had to be transported manually by carts, donkeys and water carriers to distribution points around the town.
In 1898, a new waterworks was constructed at Willis’s Road, incorporating underground reservoirs capable of storing around five million gallons. Engineers also began adapting parts of the Rock itself as catchment areas, clearing vegetation and smoothing surfaces so that rainwater could be channelled into reservoirs.
This idea was expanded dramatically from 1903, when corrugated iron sheets were installed across Gibraltar’s eastern slopes to create a vast rainwater catchment system. By 1961, the catchments covered around 34 acres. They remained one of Gibraltar’s most distinctive features until 1993, when the sheets were removed and the slopes were restored to a more natural condition.
How did Gibraltar turn seawater into the reliable drinking-water supply it depends on today?
During the Second World War, the threat of invasion created an urgent need to protect Gibraltar’s essential resources underground. In 1941, the 178 Tunnelling Company of the Royal Engineers excavated the first of several underground reservoirs at Glen Rocky, beginning a new chapter in Gibraltar’s water-supply history.
For Gibraltar’s civilian population, the first distillation plant entered service in 1956. Desalination was initially expensive because of its high energy requirements, leading to innovations such as the installation of flash distillers at King’s Bastion in 1964, which used waste heat from diesel engines to reduce operating costs. Further distillation plants followed in 1969 and 1973, before more energy-efficient systems were introduced in the 1980s.
Over time, desalination became increasingly important as Gibraltar sought a more secure and reliable source of potable water. Modern reverse-osmosis technology transformed the process, allowing seawater to be converted into drinking water far more efficiently than earlier distillation methods. Today, Gibraltar’s water supply is managed by AquaGib Ltd, which is wholly owned by HM Government of Gibraltar. Reverse-osmosis desalination now provides the vast majority of Gibraltar’s potable water, making it the cornerstone of the Rock’s modern water supply.
AquaGib also manages Gibraltar’s potable water storage and distribution infrastructure, helping to ensure a secure and continuous supply of drinking water to the community. From wells, cisterns and rainwater catchments to modern desalination, Gibraltar’s search for water has shaped the Rock’s development for centuries.