Historic main square in Gibraltar, once execution ground, now entertainment hub.
Grand Casemates Square is one of Gibraltar’s two main squares, at the northern end of Main Street. Named after the British-built Grand Casemates barracks completed in 1817, it once hosted public executions. Today it is a major entertainment centre with numerous restaurants, bars, pubs and other venues.
Grand Casemates Square is one of the two principal squares in Gibraltar, the other being John Mackintosh Square. It lies at the northern end of Main Street and is named after the British-built Grand Casemates, a casemate and bombproof barracks constructed on the square’s northern side and completed in 1817. Historically, the area dates back to Gibraltar’s Moorish period, when the first fortifications on the Rock were established. The square was built on sand that had once formed part of the shoreline, an intertidal zone used for beaching galleys. After the 1309 Siege of Gibraltar a galley house for ship repair was built here, later lost gradually to the sand. Under Spanish rule the area formed part of the walled old town known as Villa Vieja and appeared on early seventeenth‑century plans as La Barcina. During the British period, unstable ground led to building on higher, firmer terrain and eventually to the construction of Grand Casemates. The square later became an esplanade used for military parades and public military hangings; the last public execution took place in 1864. Following refurbishment in the 1990s, replacing a car park, it has become a commercial and entertainment hub with many pubs, bars, restaurants and shops, and hosts cultural events and concerts.
