Ghana · 18th century
Fort Augustaborg ranks #5,584 of 9,040 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #24 of the 35 mapped in Ghana. Founded 1787, it is older than 13% of the atlas's dated landmarks, one of 685 atlas entries founded in the 18th century. 3 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Accra, 11 km away. See how Ghana compares in the castle statistics.
Fort Augustaborg was a Danish fort on the eastern Gold Coast in present-day Ghana, which was located about 15 km east of Fort Christiansborg near present-day Teshie.
The fort was named for Princess Louise Augusta of Denmark, the fort was constructed in 1787 to combat attacks from the Portuguese Empire. It was also used as a post for the Atlantic slave trade. Five years later, Denmark was the first European nation to abolish the slave trade.
On 17 August 1850, the fort was one of five Danish forts purchased by Queen Victoria.
After the independence of Ghana in 1957, the fort became owned by the new administration. Along with 32 other forts and castles along Ghana’s coast, Fort Augusaborg is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Text adapted from “Fort Augustaborg” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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