Fort Coenraadsburg, also known as Conraadsburg or Fort São Tiago da Mina, is a small fort situated opposite Elmina Castle in the Central region of Ghana. It was built in the 1660s to protect Elmina Castle from attacks, constructed around a Portuguese chapel for Saint Jago. The site was originally occupied by the Dutch, who used the nearby hill as a gun-position in 1637 before constructing a fortified earthwork the following year.
In the 1660s, the Elmina Castle Director General J. Valckenburgh replaced the earthen fortification with a permanent fort made of local sandstone, naming it Coenraadsburg. Because the fort was built mainly for military purposes, it had no commercial warehouses. During the time it was held by the Dutch, it was used as a prison for European convicts and as a disciplinary institution for disobedient officers.
After the Dutch ceded the fort to Britain in 1872, the building was modified for civilian use. In recent years, it has served as a prison, a hospital, and a rest house. Today, the fort is in good condition and is used as an inn and a restaurant, opening from 9:00am to 4:30pm.
Due to its historical importance and testimony to the Atlantic slave trade, Fort Coenraadsburg was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1979 along with several other castles in Ghana.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Friendly Jane
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