During Ghana’s colonial era, then Gold Coast, the European-style coastal forts and castles were put up. This was done by mostly the Portuguese, British and Dutch.
A number of these forts and castles are World Heritage Sites, and they were declared World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. These are forts and castles of Volta, Greater Accra, Central, and Western Regions.
Ghana has the greatest concentration of colonial-era forts and World Heritage sites in Africa. There are 32 forts and castles in Ghana.
List of Castles In Ghana
Below is the list of Castels in Ghana that tourist looking places to visit can visit;
1. Fort Good Hope
The first Castle on our list of Castles in Ghana is the Fort Good Hope was a fort on the Dutch Gold Coast. It was built in 1667 near Senya Bereku.
It was built by the Dutch to serve the gold trade with Akim. When the gold trade wasn’t successful, slaves were sold at the fort. The fort has a slave prison in it. This is the last fort built in Gold Coast. It presently serves as a rest house and a tourist attraction site.
2. Cape Coast Castle
European traders built it. It was built as a trading post for the Portuguese in 1555. It became a center for timber and gold trade after the Swedish Africa company constructed a timber fort and was later used for the transatlantic slave trade. It is now a tourist attraction site.
3. Fort Patience
It was built by the Dutch in 1697 at Apam in the Central Region. It was a store trading Lodge. By 1721 it was converted into a defensive fortification. Its original structure is a small two-story store lodge, and it served as a police station and a post office.
4. Fort Amsterdam
It was built between 1638 and 1645 as Fort Cormatin by the English. It was made part of the Dutch Gold Coast until traded with the British in 1868. It is located at Abandze in Cape coast.
5. Fort Coenraadsburg
This is a small chapel built in 1652 by the Portuguese to honor Saint Jago. It is located opposite the Elmina Castle to protect the fort Elmina from attacks.
6. Elmina Castle
The Portuguese built this castle in 1482 at Elmina. It became the Gulf of Guinea’s first trading post and the oldest existing European building south of the Sahara.
The castle became one of the most important stops on the route of the Atlantic slave trade. It is now a major tourist attraction in Ghana.
7. Fort Batenstein
This was a trading post and a fort built by the Dutch in 1656 near Butler. The fort was handed over to Britain in 1872 and the entire Dutch Gold Coast.
8. Fort San Sebastian
Fort San Sebastián also fall on our list of castles in Ghana. This is the third-oldest fort in Ghana. It is located at Shama. It was built in 1523 by the Portuguese as a trading post, and its original purpose was to serve as a deterrent to English sailors who interfered in the Shama trade.
9. Fort Metal Cross
This was built in 1683 by Dixcove in the Western Region by Brandenburg-Prussia. It was transferred to the Dutch as part of a large trade of forts between Britain and the Netherlands.
10. Fort Vredenburgh
It belonged to the Dutch. It was built in 1682 at Komenda, and it was a trading post but was abandoned soon after, and it remains a preserved ruins.
11. Fort Saint Anthony
The Portuguese built it in 1515. It is located near Axim, and it was captured by the Dutch in 1642 and made part of the Dutch Gold Coast. It is now the property of Ghana and a tourist site.
12. Christianborg Or Osu Castle
This is located in Osu. It was built in 1661 by Denmark, Norway, and it became the seat of the government of Ghana in 1902.
13. Ussher Fort
It is located in Accra. It was built in the 1600s by the Dutch, and it is currently being restored to be converted into a museum. Chale Wote is hosted here during the Homowo festival.
14. James Fort
This was built by the Royal African company as a trading post for gold and slaves in 1673. It serves as a historic castle and tourist site.
FAQs
Below are some frequently asked questions about Castles in Ghana;
How many castles do we have in Ghana?
Ghana has 32 forts and castles along Ghana’s coast as World Heritage Sites as documented by UNESCO.
What is the oldest castle in Ghana?
Elmina Castle is the oldest and largest in Ghana, West Africa. Along the West and East Coast of Ghana, there are a line-up of Forts and Castles.
Which castle is the biggest in Ghana?
Cape Coast Castle is the biggest castle in Ghana that contains the legacy of the trans-Atlantic slave trade and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Which Castle did the British build in Ghana?
The British built the Cape Coast Castle. Cape Coast Castle is a European-built fortress situated on the central coastline of Ghana. Since its initial construction in 1652, the Castle served as a trading post for European nations and as the headquarters of British colonial administration for the Gold Coast Colony.
Who built Osu Castle?
The Osu Castle was built by the Danes around 1659 and originally called Christiansborg Castle, Osu Castle was the seat of government until 2013, when the president and his office moved to Flagstaff House.
Who built Christiansborg castle?
The castle’s origins can be traced to a lodge built by Swedes in 1652. Nine years later, the Danish built a fort on the site and called it Fort Christiansborg (“Christian’s Fortress”), named after the King of Denmark, Christian IV. Over time, the fort was enlarged and converted into a castle.
Cape Coast Castle the same as Elmina Castle?
Built in 1482 by Portuguese traders, Elmina [formerly Saint Georges] Castle was the first European slave-trading post in all of sub-Saharan Africa.
Elmina and its sibling, the cape coast castle have almost every thing, from their designs, structure, history and raison d’etre in common. The Cape Coast Castle is different from the Elmina Castle.
Conclusion
Presented above are the List of Castles in Ghana that tourists can try.
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