Elmina Castle – a wonder of the African world

By Kerstin Tschernigg

Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Elmina Castle convinces with its powerful beauty and meaningful history in the Central Region of Ghana.

Elmina Castle, which was built in 1482 by the Portuguese, carried the name São Jorge da Mina and served as an important stop of the Atlantic slave trade.

Ghana was formerly known as Gold Coast where the Portuguese made Elmina Castle as well as its surrounding to their possession. As the oldest European building in sub-Saharan Africa, the castle itself became the first trading post on the Gulf of Guinea and served the Portuguese until 1637, when the Dutch began to take over. Not until 1642 though, the Dutch succeeded, continued with the slave trade and named Ghana the Dutch Gold Coast.

Many more Dutch than Portuguese soldiers were sent to the castle as Dutch names can still be found in the region because of marriages outside of the life of a brutal slave trade.

The Dutch continued trading slaves under horrible circumstances until 1814, when the slave trade was finally banned. 57 years later, the Dutch Gold Coast as well as the Dutch fort situated on a hill opposite the castle were taken over by the British.

Elmina Castle consists of a Portuguese church, which now functions as a museum, various male and female dungeons as well as the former leader’s bedroom, two living rooms and one washroom.

Interestingly, when looking at the treatment differences between races, the African American slaves were kept in cells without windows, the door solely including slots for a slight breeze of fresh air to fill the lungs of the starving slaves. No African American slave ever returned from these cells.

Elmina Castle - a must-see for foreign visitors coming to the Central Region of Ghana. The guided tour by Ghanaians inside the castle building is highly recommended and gives an insight about a spectacular heritage site with an unbelievable history.