The Order of St John arrived in Malta in 1530 and was thrown out by Napoleon in 1798. That is 268 years.
Most of the buildings visitors come to see were put up in that period. A lot of how Malta looks today was decided then.
Where they came from
The Order began in Jerusalem as a hospital for pilgrims, which is where the name Hospitaller comes from. It became a military order during the Crusades.
After losing the Holy Land it moved to Rhodes and held it for two centuries. The Ottomans took Rhodes in 1522 and the Knights were left without a base for eight years.
The rent was one falcon a year
Charles V gave them Malta in 1530. The rent was a single Maltese falcon, delivered each year to the Viceroy of Sicily.
The Knights took the islands because they had nowhere else to go. They did not think much of the place at first and said so in writing.
What they built
After the siege of 1565 they built Valletta from nothing on an empty peninsula. St John’s Co-Cathedral went up in the 1570s. It looks plain outside and is covered in gold inside, and it holds two Caravaggios, including the Beheading of St John the Baptist.
They also built the Sacra Infermeria, a hospital that was one of the largest in Europe at the time. The Order never stopped being a hospital order, whatever else it became.
The auberges are still standing
The Knights were organised by language into groups called langues. Each one had its own auberge, a headquarters and residence in the city.
Several are still in use. The Auberge de Castille on Castille Place is now the Office of the Prime Minister.
It is the building you see on the news.
How it ended
Napoleon stopped in Malta in June 1798 on his way to Egypt and asked to take on water. He was let in.
The Knights surrendered within days and were gone. French rule lasted two years before the Maltese rebelled and asked Britain for help.
