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Ghana UNESCO world heritage sites

Ashanti region [capital = Kumasi]

Asante Traditional Buildings in Bekwai on N10
Near Kumasi, a group of traditional buildings are the last remaining testimony of the great Asante civilization, which reached its peak in the 18th century. The buildings include ten shrines/fetish houses (Abirim, Asawase, Asenemaso, Bodwease, Ejisu Besease, Adarko Jachie, Edwenase, Kentinkrono, Patakro and Saaman).

Central region [capital = Cape Coast]

Fort Vredenburgh in Komenda
Fort Komenda was established between 1695 and 1698 at Komenda, in contemporary Ghana. The fort had a very peculiar architecture, as this four-bastioned structure was built around an earlier four-bastioned English trading post, built in 1633.

Fort Coenraadsburg in Elmina @
Fort Coenraadsburg or Conraadsburg, also Fort Sao Tiago da Mina, is a fort on the Dutch Gold Coast, built in 1652 to protect Fort Elmina from attacks.

St. George's Castle in Elmina @
It was the first trading post built on the Gulf of Guinea, so is the oldest European building in existence south of the Sahara. First established as a trade settlement, the castle later became one of the most important stops on the route of the Atlantic slave trade.

Cape Coast Castle in Cape Coast on Victoria Road
Cape Coast Castle is one of about forty "slave castles", or large commercial forts, built on the Gold Coast of West Africa (now Ghana) by European traders. It was originally built by the Swedes for trade in timber and gold, but later used in the trans-Atlantic slave trade. They were used to hold slaves before they were loaded onto ships and sold in the Americas, especially the Caribbean. This "gate of no return" was the last stop before crossing the Atlantic Ocean.

Fort Amsterdam in Abandze at Kormantin
Fort Amsterdam is a fort in Kormantin, Central region, Ghana. It was built by the English between 1638 and 1645 as Fort Cormantin or Fort Courmantyne, and was captured by admiral Engel de Ruyter of the Dutch West India Company in 1665.

Fort Patience in Apam
The fort was first built as a stone trading lodge in 1697 at the request of the King of Acron, with whom the Dutch had a treaty, and which was situated between the kingdoms of Fante and Agona, with whom the British had a treaty. The executives of the Dutch West India Company were quite wary to establish a fort in an area with minimal trade, and only consented on the condition that it would be built at minimal costs. The Acron were not happy with this, and frequently threatened the Dutch with expulsion if they would not extend the fortifications. As a result, it took the Dutch five years to complete the building, which is why they gave it the name Fort Patience.

Fort Good Hope in Senya Beraku @
It was to serve the gold trade with Akim, which is north of Agona. At first, the Dutch built a small triangular fort, that they called Fort de Goede Hoop (or Good Hope in English). The gold trade was not very prosperous, but later on slaves were sold at the fort. By 1715, the fort had become too small and the Dutch decided to double it in size by breaking away the diagonal and making it square shaped. A slave prison was made in the southwest bastion of the fort. In the second half of the 18th century, the fort was surrounded by an outer wall.

Western region [capital = Sekondi]

Fort San Sebastian in Shama @
It was built by the Portuguese from 1520 to 1526 as a trading post in and captured by the Dutch West India Company in 1642. The original purpose of the fort was to serve as a deterrent to English sailors interfering in Shama trade.

Fort Batenstein in Butre @
Fort Batenstein was built by the Dutch West India Company, not because of promising trade opportunities in the area, but to crush the attempts of the Swedish Africa Company to establish trading posts on the Gold Coast. Hendrik Carloff, who had previously worked for the Dutch West India Company, founded a trading lodge at Butre in 1650, which was attacked on the instigation of the Dutch by the people of Encasser in 1652. To make sure the Swedes would not return, the Dutch started building a fort on top of the hill overlooking Butre bay, which was completed by 1656.

Fort Metal Cross in Dixcove @
For the British, the motive for commencing construction of Dixcove Fort in 1692 was identical to that of the Dutch in building Fort Batentstein - to tap into the promise of gold in the hinterland; and also to win back the many English captains trading at the Brandenburgers' (Germans') Fort Gross Friedrichsburg in nearby Princestown. However, the people of Infuma, loyal to two chiefs whose allegiances swayed between the British and Dutch, besieged the fort several times, on behalf of the Dutch, stalling its completion. By 1750, the fort was equipped to carry up to 25 canons.

Fort Saint Anthony in Axim @
It was built by the Portuguese in 1515 after they were forced to abandon their trading post near the edge of the Ankobra River after persistent attacks by the local people. It was the second fort built by the Portuguese after Elmina Castle and used to trade gold. St Antonio had strong military defences and withstood many attacks for over four hundred years. The fort was eventually captured by the Dutch in 1642 and continued to be used to trade primarily in gold. It was rumoured that the fort at Axim had amassed more gold than all other trading centres along the coast put together. The fort was expanded by the Dutch some of these expansions were to improve defence while others served to house slaves before they were loaded onto transport ships. The fort was known as one of the main regional slave trading posts during the 18th century when they received a steady supply of slaves from Ashanti.