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25.06.2008 Art & Culture

How important are our Castle to Tourism in Ghana

25.06.2008 LISTEN
By Weekly Fylla and Fylla Magazine

How important are the Castles in Ghana to our tourism? Over 10,000 foreign tourists enter Ghana every month. No wonder why tourism is seen as the second high foreign exchange earner for Ghana. The coast of the present day Republic of Ghana is littered with the highest concentration of forts and castles than any other coastline in Africa. Some of the most important ones are Elmina Castle, Cape Coast Castle, Christiansburg Castle, Fort Crevecour, James Fort, Axim Fort, Fort Metal Cross, Fort Good hope in Senya Beraku others were used as factories or baracoons.
Ghana's castles and forts offer concrete testimony to the drama of human history and staid witness to one of the world's most tragic events - the Slave Trade. The Castle was built for the trade in timber and gold, later it was used in the trans-Atlantic slave trade. The Castle, or Castle and Dungeon, to give it its official name, were first restored in the 1920s by the British Public Works Department. In 1957, when Ghana became independent, it passed under the care of the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board (GMMB). In the early 1990s the building was restored by the Ghanaian Government, with funds from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), USAID, the Smithsonian Institution and other NGOs.
Cape Coast Castle has seen the passage of numerous foreign powers. Initially constructed as a small trading lodge in the 16th century, the building was subsequently altered and enlarged becoming a substantial fort by 1627.
It was later captured by the Swedes and named Fort Carlsberg, finally becoming a British possession in 1664. Cape Coast Castle, through which millions of slaves were shipped to the Caribbean and the United States, became the seat of British colonial administration until 1877 when government offices moved to Christiansburg Castle in Accra. The cannons still face seaward, stirring the imagination to scenes of exploration, discover and great tragedy.
The Museum of West African History, currently under development in cooperation with the Smithsonian Institution of the United States, brings into sharp focus the role that these great structures played in the meeting of two cultures. As you wander the ramparts of Cape Coast Castle in the salt air, the view is a visual feast.
Traditional customs - the mending of nets and launching of painted fishing canoes, continue side-by-side with the new - impromptu soccer games and the hustle and bustle of business. Cape Coast Castle is alive with the human spirit.


Elmina Castle is the earliest known European structure in the tropics. Built in 1482 by the Portuguese during early world exploration, the castle was taken over by the Dutch in 1637, which retained control for 274 years. Inside the vast fortification is the location of the first Catholic Church in Sub-Sahara Africa.
For St. Jago is within walking distance. It is from this vantage point that the Dutch launched their successful land attack on Elmina Castle. Its primary purpose was to provide military protection to Elmina Castle. The hill on which Ft. St. Jago stands provides an excellent view of Elmina Castle, the Atlantic Ocean, and the buzz of commercial activity at the Elmina fishing harbor.
Guided tours of Cape Coast and Elmina Castles revealed that currently more tourists visit this unique tourist site in Ghana. Unconfirmed statistics indicate that during the year 2000-2007 tourist visit both domestic and foreign visitors to the castle has increase by more than 50¬ % and contribute immensely to the economy of Ghana. No only attracted to visitor by its Cultural and theatrical performances are often staged here.
At the time of Weekly Fylla's visit to the castle, some tourists interviewed expressed how historic the castle is to them and gives them a time to reflect soberly on how their forefathers were treated been before shipped to the western world. Some foreign tourists express how important it is to their students to trace their roots to Africa and their study of the history of Ghana.
A tour guide at the castle, who explained some of the inscriptions on the wall of the dungeon, drew tears from the eyes of both young and old visitors who were listening. More visitors pass through the castles of the country daily and are paying lots of money to learn about the importance these castles to add to their education and also contribute to the economy of Ghana.
Prominent among these are the re-enactment of the horrors of the slave trade as well as a solemn, touching portrayal of the final journey of the Africans as they walked through the hellish dungeons into the awaiting ships that transported them to the Americas. A special celebration has been structured to take place at the historic castle of Cape Coast annually were black American, African American and some Ghanaians gather to trace the Africa root. This day is known internationally as Emancipation Day.

Story by Peterking Quaye

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