List of castles in Africa
Encyclopedia
This list of castles in Africa includes castle
s, forts, and mock castles in Africa
.
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
s, forts, and mock castles in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
.
Angola
- Fortaleza de São MiguelFortaleza de São MiguelFor Canadian fort, see Fort San MiguelFortaleza de São Miguel or Saint Michael Fortress was a Portuguese fortress built in Luanda, Angola....
- Fort Naulila, Cunene Province
- Fort Cuangar, Cunene Province
Egypt
- BuhenBuhenBuhen was an ancient Egyptian settlement situated on the West bank of the Nile below the Second Cataract. It is well known for its fortress, probably constructed during the rule of Senusret III, around the year 1860 BC . The site may have been first established as an outpost in Nubia during the...
(c.1860 BCE) - Cairo CitadelCairo CitadelThe Saladin Citadel of Cairo is a medieval Islamic fortification in Cairo, Egypt. The location, on Mokattam hill near the center of Cairo, was once famous for its fresh breeze and grand views of the city...
(12th century) - Citadel of QaitbayCitadel of QaitbayThe Citadel of Qaitbay is a 15th century defensive fortress located on the Mediterranean sea coast, built upon/from the ruins of the Lighthouse of Alexandria, in Alexandria, Egypt...
(15th century)
Ghana
- Fort AmsterdamFort Amsterdam (Ghana)Fort Amsterdam is a fort in Kormantin, Ghana. It was built by the English between 1638 and 1645 as Fort Cormantine and was captured by admiral Engel de Ruyter of the Dutch West India Company in 1665...
, Abandze, Cormantin (1665-1721, 1785-1867) - Fort Apollonia, Benyin (16..-16.., 1868-1871)
- Fort Saint Antony, AximAximAxim is a town, district and kingdom on the coast of Ghana. It lies 64 kilometers west of the port city of Takoradi, south of the highway leading to the Côte d'Ivoire border, in the Western Region to the west of Cape Three Points....
(February 1642-1664, 1665-71) - Fort BatensteinFort BatensteinFort Batenstein was the second trading post established by the Dutch on their Gold Coast between 1595 and 1600, after Fort Nassau was founded in Mouri around the same time. It was situated near Butre . In 1649, the trading post was upgraded into a fort...
, Butri (1656-1665, 1666-1871) - Cape Coast CastleCape Coast CastleCape Coast Castle is a fortification in Ghana built by Swedish traders. The first timber construction on the site was erected in 1653 for the Swedish Africa Company and named Carolusborg after King Charles X of Sweden. It was later rebuilt in stone....
, Cape CoastCape CoastCape Coast, or Cabo Corso, is the capital of the Central Region of Ghana and is also the capital city of the Fante people, or Mfantsefo. It is situated 165 km west of Accra on the Gulf of Guinea. It has a population of 82,291 . From the 16th century the city has changed hands between the...
(1688-1782, 16 April 1659-May 1659) - Fort CrêvecoeurFort CrevecoeurFort Crevecoeur was founded near the present site of Creve Coeur, a suburb of Peoria, Illinois, in January 1680.-Founding:...
, AccraAccraAccra is the capital and largest city of Ghana, with an urban population of 1,658,937 according to the 2000 census. Accra is also the capital of the Greater Accra Region and of the Accra Metropolitan District, with which it is coterminous...
(1649-1782, 1785-1867/8) - Fort Dorothea, Akwida (1687-1698, 1711-1712, 1732-1804)
- Elmina CastleElmina CastleElmina Castle was erected by Portugal in 1482 as São Jorge da Mina Castle, also known simply as Mina or Feitoria da Mina) in present-day Elmina, Ghana . It was the first trading post built on the Gulf of Guinea, so is the oldest European building in existence below the Sahara...
, ElminaElminaElmina, is a town in the Central Region, situated on a south-facing bay on the Atlantic Ocean coast of Ghana, about 12 km west of Cape Coast...
(1482) - English Fort (Fort Vrendenburg), KomendaKomenda/Edina/Eguafo/Abirem DistrictThe Komenda/Edina/Eguafo/Abirem District is a district of Ghana in the Central Region.-Sources:*...
(1785-1871) - Fort Good Hope (Fort Goedehoop), Senya Beraku (1667/1705-1782, 1785-1868)
- Fort Hollandia (1725-1815, previously Gross-Friedrichsburg, part of the former Brandenburger Gold CoastBrandenburger Gold CoastThe Brandenburger Gold Coast, later Prussian Gold Coast, was a part of the Gold Coast. The Brandenburg colony existed from 1682 to 1717.- Brandenburger Gold Coast :...
settlements), sold to the Dutch by Prussia - Fort St. Jago (Fort Conraadsburg), ElminaElminaElmina, is a town in the Central Region, situated on a south-facing bay on the Atlantic Ocean coast of Ghana, about 12 km west of Cape Coast...
- Fort Metal Cross (Metaal Kruis), DixcoveDixcoveDixcove is a coastal town in the Western Region of Ghana, located approximately 35 km west of the regional capital of Takoradi.Dixcove is the site of Fort Metal Cross, an English-built fort which was completed in 1698, which dominates the fishing harbour and town from a bluff located on the...
(1868-1871) - Fort NassauFort Nassau (Ghana)Fort Nassau was the first Dutch established fort on the Dutch Gold Coast, near Moree, Ghana. A trading post was established between 1595 and 1600, which was attacked and burned to the ground by the Portuguese in 1610. In 1612 a reinforced fort was built, which due to the unfamiliarity of the Dutch...
, present Mouri (1598/1611-1664, 1665-1782, 1785-1867) - Fort Oranje, Sekondi (1640-1871)
- Osu CastleOsu CastleOsu Castle, also known as Fort Christiansborg or simply the Castle, is a castle located in Osu, Accra, on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean's Gulf of Guinea. The first substantial fort was built by the Danish in the 1660s, though the castle has changed hands between Denmark, Portugal, the Akwamu, the...
(Fort Christiansborg), OsuOsu, GhanaLocated about 3 km east of the CBD, Osu is a district in central Accra, Ghana, known for its busy commercial, restaurant and nightlife activity. It is locally known as the 'West End' of Accra. Bounded to the south by the Gulf of Guinea, Osu's western boundary is the Independence Avenue...
, AccraAccraAccra is the capital and largest city of Ghana, with an urban population of 1,658,937 according to the 2000 census. Accra is also the capital of the Greater Accra Region and of the Accra Metropolitan District, with which it is coterminous... - Fort Patience (Fort Leydsaemhyt), ApamApamApam is a coastal town in the Central Region of Ghana, located approximately 45km east of the regional capital of Cape Coast.Apam is the site of Fort Lijdzaamheid, a Dutch-built fort which was completed in 1702, which dominates the fishing harbour and town from a rocky peninsula located on the...
(1697-1782,1785-1868) - Fort PrinzensteinFort PrinzensteinFort Prinzenstein is a fort located at Keta, Ghana which was used in the slave trade. Many such forts were built in Africa, but Prinzenstein is one of the few that lie east of the Volta River. It was initially built by Danish traders in 1784 for defensive purposes in a war against the Anlo Ewe and...
, KetaKetaKeta is a city in Volta Region, Ghana. It was an important trading post between the 14th and late 20th century via a port and fort built by the Dutch in 1784. Parts of the city were devastated by sea erosion between the 1960s and 1980s.... - Fort San SebastianFort San SebastianFort San Sebastian is a fort in Shama, Ghana. It was built by the Portuguese as a trading post in 1523 and captured by the Dutch West India Company in 1642. The first black European university professor, Anton Wilhelm Amo, lies interred in the fort's graveyard. The fort was ceded with the entire...
, Shema (1637-1664,1664-1871)
South Africa
- Fort BeaufortFort BeaufortFort Beaufort is a town in the Amatole District of South Africa's Eastern Cape Province, and has a population of 78,300. The town was established in 1837 and became a municipality in 1883. The town lies at the confluence of the Kat and Brak rivers between the Keiskamma and Great Fish rivers...
, Eastern Cape Province (1822-1837) - Castle On the Cliff
- Fort Durnford, Estcourt, KwaZulu-NatalEstcourt, KwaZulu-NatalEstcourt is a town in the uThukela District of KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. The main economic activity is farming with large bacon and processed food factories situated around the town. The N3 freeway passes close to the town, linking it to the rest of South Africa.-Location:Estcourt is...
(1847) - Castle of Good HopeCastle of Good HopeThe Castle of Good Hope is a star fort which was built on the original coastline of Table Bay and now, because of land reclamation, lies nearer to the Cape Town city centre in South Africa.-History:...
, Cape TownCape TownCape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
(1666) - GreylingstadGreylingstadGreylingstad is a small farming town west of Standerton in Mpumalanga, South Africa.- Early 20th century :...
, MpumalangaMpumalangaMpumalanga , is a province of South Africa. The name means east or literally "the place where the sun rises" in Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, north of KwaZulu-Natal and bordering Swaziland and Mozambique. It constitutes 6.5% of South Africa's land area...
(c.1900) - Fort Hare, Alice, Eastern CapeAlice, Eastern CapeAlice, a town in South Africa, is named after Princess Alice, daughter of the British Queen Victoria. Many of the current political leaders in South Africa were educated at the University of Fort Hare, also the alma mater of former President Nelson Mandela...
(19th century) - Knoetzie Castles
- Craighross Castle, Noetzie
- Lindsay Castle, Noetzie
- Castle KyalamiCastle KyalamiCastle Kyalami is a castle located in Kyalami in the province of Gauteng, north of Johannesburg, South Africa...
, GautengGautengGauteng is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. It was formed from part of the old Transvaal Province after South Africa's first all-race elections on 27 April 1994...
(1990s) - Fort Mistake, Glencoe, KwaZulu-NatalGlencoe, KwaZulu-NatalGlencoe is situated in the Umzinyathi District District of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.The main economic activity in the area is coal mining while sheep and cattle ranching are also practiced.-History:...
- OhrigstadOhrigstadOhrigstad is a small town to the north of Lydenburg in the Mpumalanga province, South Africa. A fort was established by a group of Voortrekkers under the leadership of Andries Hendrik Potgieter with the help of a Dutch merchant Gregorius Ohrig. The settlers arrived in 1845 and were soon afterwards...
, MpumalangaMpumalangaMpumalanga , is a province of South Africa. The name means east or literally "the place where the sun rises" in Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, north of KwaZulu-Natal and bordering Swaziland and Mozambique. It constitutes 6.5% of South Africa's land area...
Zimbabwe
- Fort Victoria (Masvingo)MasvingoMasvingo is a town in south-eastern Zimbabwe and the capital of Masvingo Province. The town is close to Great Zimbabwe, the national monument from which the country takes its name.- History :...
- Great ZimbabweGreat ZimbabweGreat Zimbabwe is a ruined city that was once the capital of the Kingdom of Zimbabwe, which existed from 1100 to 1450 C.E. during the country’s Late Iron Age. The monument, which first began to be constructed in the 11th century and which continued to be built until the 14th century, spanned an...
(11th-15th century)