Ghana · 17th century
Osu Castle (also known as Fort Christiansborg or Christiansborg Castle) is a castle located in Osu, a neighborhood of Accra, the capital city of Ghana, on the coast of the Gulf of Guinea.
A substantial fort was built by Denmark–Norway in the 1660s; thereafter, the fort changed ownership between Denmark–Norway, Portugal, the Akwamu, Britain, and finally post-Independence Ghana. Under Denmark–Norway control it was the capital of the Danish Gold Coast, and held and dispatched enslaved people overseas.
In 1902, Christiansborg Castle (as it then was) became the seat of government in the Gold Coast; however, in modern Ghana, the seat of government has now been moved to Jubilee House.
Because of its testimony to European colonial influence in West Africa and the Atlantic slave trade, the castle was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1979 along with several other castles and forts in Ghana.
Text adapted from “Osu Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Osu Castle ranks #501 of 9,079 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #3 of the 35 mapped in Ghana. Founded 1659, it is older than 25% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 721 atlas entries founded in the 17th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 7,634 times in the last 60 days, more than 91% of the atlas. 3 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Accra, 2 km away. See how Ghana compares in the castle statistics.
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