Ghana Museum and Monuments Board

The Kumasi Fort and Military Museum is situated in Kumasi, the capital city of the Ashanti Region of Ghana. It is one of the few military museums in Africa. Constructed by the Asantehene (the King of the Asante Kingdom) in 1820, the fort was destroyed in 1874 by the British forces and renovated 23 years later. Come and dive into our history!

The Asante Traditional Buildings are a unique and authentic collection of 13 buildings situated in ten locations. These beautifully decorated buildings, from 100-200 years ago, are probably the last authentic architectural remains from the prosperous Asante Empire times. The Empire reached its golden age in the 18th century.

Fort Amsterdam, built by the British [1638-1645], destroyed by fire in 1640 and rebuilt as heavily fortified fort. In 1661 it became headquarters of English Gold Coast. Dutch Admiral De Ruyter captured the fort in 1665. In 1811, the people of Anomabu destroyed the fort. It is believed to be the first slave prison on the Gold Coast.

Want to know how the brave new world came into being? Step back a few centuries and visit the Cape Coast Castle in Ghana. Now a museum, Cape Coast Castle is one of the about 40 slave castles or large trading posts built by European traders and colonists.

The significant castle of St. George (Elmina Castle) is the first major European construction in tropical Africa. It is situated in the central region of Ghana in a town called Elmina.

Standing tall on a hilltop in Butre village in Western Ghana, Fort Batenstein offers a mesmerising view of the Atlantic coastline. But it was much more than the spectacular panorama and the paradisiacal beauty of the surroundings that urged Dutch settlers to build this small trading fort in 1656 in this area - GOLD.

The trading Fort William was completed by 1757. It was built on hard rock near a sandy beach indentation with a sheltered harbour. The English had built a fort back in 1674 called Fort Charles which was destroyed to prevent it from being captured by other European companies. The English then hurried to construct Fort William.

Fort Victoria was one of a chain of 3 lookout posts built on the hills in the town of Cape Coast around Cape Coast Castle. In 1837 the present Fort Victoria was built on the ruins of its predecessor as a small but strong fort.

Built by the Danish as Christianborg Castle in the 1660s, Osu Castle has since then been passed on to many different owners. The castle was used for the trade of slaves and gold but was abandoned after the abolition of slave trading in 1803. In 1902 Christiansborg Castle became the seat of government and serves as the office of Ghana's President.

Fort Apollonia was built by the British between 1765 and 1771, to ward off Dutch colonial ambitions. The abolition of the slave trade in the Gold Coast diminished the importance of the fort, as a result it became too expensive, so the British abandoned it in 1819 after which, the Dutch took ownership over the fort in 1868.

Reminding of British colonial times, Fort Metal Cross stands tall on a headland near Infuma in Ghana's western region. The quiet waters of the bay are perfect for sailing (if you have a small boat) and canoeing.