Fort Prinzenstein

Prinzenstein was built by the Danes at Keta in 1784, the easternmost of the forts on this coast and one of the last built, and it was used in the trade in enslaved people until Denmark abolished its participation and then in the suppression of the traffic afterwards. The sea has taken a large part of it: coastal erosion along this shore has been severe, and the western half of the fort has gone into the water, leaving standing walls, cells and a bastion behind a sea defence built to stop further loss. What survives includes underground holding rooms shown to visitors. Keta itself has lost streets to the same erosion. The fort is part of the World Heritage inscription on the Ghanaian forts and castles.

History

The Dutch West India Company built Fort Singelenburgh on this site in 1734 but abandoned it in 1737; after the Anlo pillaged the Danish agent at Keta in 1783, the Danish governor of Christiansborg raised an army from the Ada, Akwapim, Ga and Krobo, defeated the Anlo and in 1784 imposed a treaty that let the Danes build Fort Prinzenstein, of stone brought mostly from Accra, and bound the Anlo to trade only with them. Until 1803 the fort held enslaved people awaiting shipment to the Caribbean; in 1850 it was sold to Britain with the rest of the Danish Gold Coast and later served as a prison, and in 1980 the sea wrecked part of it, an erosion that efforts to protect the remains since 1991 have not stopped (Wikipedia, Fort Prinzenstein).

Highlights

• The surviving walls - the standing half of the Danish fort.
• Holding cells - the underground rooms shown on the guided route.
• The sea defence - the wall built to stop further erosion.
• The Keta shore - the eroding coast the fort stands on.

When to go

November to March for the dry season and easier travel in the Volta Region. Mornings are cooler. The fort keeps daytime hours with a caretaker guide.

Good to know

Much of the fort has been lost to the sea and what remains is fragile. Interpretation is limited to the guide. The subject is the transatlantic slave trade and is addressed directly. Keta is a long drive east of Accra.

Nearby

The Keta lagoon lies inland; Ada Foah is west along the coast.

Key facts