ELMINA CASTLE
This was the first castle built in Ghana then
Gold Coast by the Portuguese in 1482. It was
first named St. George of mine. They were
surprised to find gold along the coast thus the
name Gold Coast. The castle was then captured
by the Netherlands in 1637 then later became
Britain’s in 1872. This castle, located in the Cen-
tral region of Ghana receives high patronage
because it’s historic significance. Amongst the
high profile personalities who have visited this
place is the former United States of America
president Barack Obama and his family.
CAPE COAST CASTLE
The original name of this castle was Carolus-
burg meaning Charles Castle. It was built by
the Swedish in1653 and later became Britain’s
in 1665. Just like Elmina Castle, it receives
patronage and amongst the patrons is Steve
Harvey when visited Ghana, where he had an
emotional breakdown feeling the horrors of the
time. This castle is also located in the Central
Region of Ghana.
OSU CASTLE
This used to be the Presidential residence of
the country which was later moved to Flagstaff
House by John Dramani Mahama the former
president of Ghana. It was built in 1661 by
Denmark and was later captured by Portugal in
1679 then Denmark recaptured it in 1683 and
Britain gained ownership of it in 1850.
As indicated earlier, forts cannot be left out
because they helped protect these castles and
other forts as well. Here are some honorable
mentions
FORT ST. JAGO built IN 1652 to protect
Elmina Castle from attacks by the Dutch.
FORT ST. ANTONIO built in 1515 by
Portugal but it was captured by the
Dutch in 1642, who expanded it before
handing it over.
FORT GROSS FREIDRICHSBURG was the
only German fort built in Ghana.
In all, the Castles and Forts give pride
and prestige to the country. The
government could renovate or rebuild
the ones in ruins in order to preserve
history and serve as an employment
avenue to the youth to reduce the
unemployment rate in the
country.
The famous
Cape Coast
Castle
Back to the Contents page