Fort Sao Jago da Mina
Fort Sao Jago da Mina , or Coenraadsburg , is a fortress in the Ghanaian coastal city of Elmina . Built by the Dutch in 1652 , it is two hundred meters as the crow flies from the better-known, older and larger Fort São Jorge da Mina . The fort has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1979 .
Fort Sao Jago da Mina is located on a hill on which the Portuguese built a fortified chapel between 1555 and 1558. Hence the Portuguese name of the fort, which is easy to confuse. From this hill the Dutch bombed the aforementioned Portuguese fortress in 1637 and captured it after several unsuccessful attempts in the previous decades. In order to prevent their enemies from conquering the Portuguese fortress they had just captured from the hill of St. Jago, the Dutch fortified the hill with earth walls. They converted the chapel into a residential building, built a watchtower and finally built Fort Sao Jago da Mina / Conraadsburg there in 1652. In fact, the fortress was never conquered until it was sold to the British in 1872, like other Dutch holdings on the Gold Coast . In contrast to other forts on the Gold Coast , Sao Jago da Mina was never used for the slave trade, but had purely military significance or was used as a detention center for European convicts.
The castle was restored between 1956 and 1960 and attracts significant numbers of visitors.
See also
literature
- Albert Van Dantzig: Forts and Castles of Ghana. Sedco Publishing Ltd., Accra 1980, ISBN 9964-72-010-6 .
Web links
Coordinates: 5 ° 5 ′ 4 " N , 1 ° 21 ′ 3" W