Elmina Travel Guide

Elmina is located approximately 15km west of Cape coast, in the Central Region.

It's a small fishing village with a fort and a castle. It is a great place to relax, especially in the beginning of July, when the Bakatue festival is held.

As well as all the other forts and castles at the costline of Ghana, Fort St Jago and Elmina Castle have their origin in the colonial past of the country:

The fort was built by the Portuguese to protect the village they conquered from Dutch and English invaders. At that time, the Dutch owned Cape Cost castle and tried to conquer the whole coastline there. 

Elmina Castle was built for extra protection and as transport/stockage for slaves. The Dutch were not able to conquer Elmina from the sea, but by co-operation with the local inhabitants, they found a way over land to invade the fort from the back and suceeded. The Fort was renamed: Fort Coenraedsburg, and the castle was partly rebuilt. For more information, you might consider taking a guided tour through the castle. It's really worth it. And if you have time enough, it would be great to combine this visit with some other forts along the coast. Which are really not far away...