The Osu Castle is also known as Fort Christainsborg, may not be the favorite castle for travelers visiting Ghana, but it is the only castle you can find in the capital and have a bit of charm with great historical background, nice renovation, and experienced tour guides.
When I finally decided to write about the Osu castle, I wanted to feed my readers with more information and guides that will help them visit the castle without bothering tour guides with so many questions. The sad, the good news, and the ugly side of the castle’s history. Giving my readers such details of places is part of my DNA.
If you close your eyes and think about slavery castles, you probably think of how bad blacks or African’s was treated by their white rulers.
I have put together this article to help you know more about Osu Castle. If you find this information useful, share it with friends and on social media.
All You Need To Know About Osu Castle (Fort Christainsborg)
The castle is located on the shores of Osu, a township within Accra, Ghana ( on the coast of the Gulf of Guinea in African) and is a 17th-century castle built by the Danes. Over the years, the castle has served many rulers and has changed hands between Denmark, Portugal, Norway, the Akwamu, Britain, and later after independence the government of Ghana.
Christiansburg Castle has served several important functions: a trading entrepôt during the trans-Atlantic slave trade; the seat of most colonial government administration.
The Osu Castle is also unique among the castles and forts in Ghana as for most of the castle’s history, the castle has served or has been the seat of government in Ghana with some interruptions until the seat of government was moved to the Jubilee House.
Christiansborg Archaeological Heritage Project
After the castle was selected by UNESCO as a world heritage site, it is also undergoing archeological investigation. The project is very huge and also a community-based project.
In 2014, a team of Ghanaian researchers, professors, history students, and some Osu community members, has and is working together to learn and gather more information about the castle.
This project is what has helped tour guides and other organizations with regular updates and information about the Osu castle and this project has helped share many and great stories to local and international tourists visiting the castle.
What Is Osu Castle used for Now?
Although you will still find the old items and information you need to know, there has been some renovation too. In 2017, the Osu castle was converted into a Presidential Museum and part of our 60th-anniversary legacy project as a country.
It’s now a museum that now showcases presidential artifacts, presidential papers, waxworks, and also showcases some old paintings of past colonial leaders’, books, artworks, and other items in our possession that allow us to honor appropriately the great history behind all.
There is a lot to learn when you visit the Osu castle even though I’m trying my best to give you all the written history about the castle. You need to see for yourself.
History of Osu Castle ( Fort Christainsborg )
In 1550 the area was occupied by the Portuguese, through in the 17th-century Portuguese influence diminished. In the 1650s, the area came under the control of Sweden, led by the Herman trader Heinrich Carloff.
In 1652, the king of Accra, Chief Okaikoi, was in business with Heinrich Carloff and later gave him permission to build a small fortified lodge. In 1660, control passed to the Netherlands but it was soon lost to Denmark-Norway. In 1657, Carloff had again traveled to Africa, this time representing Denmark-Norway. He aimed to conquer the forts he had previously established, which he found easy at Osu.
Initially, the castle was primarily used in the gold and ivory trade, but under Dano-Norwegian control, it increasingly dealt with slaves.
Mainly the Osu castle was built close to two other forts. Dutch Fort Crevevoeur and Fort James by the British. Osu township back then was too small to store sufficient goods to compete with others. So the Denmark-Norway purchased adjoining land and expanded the building, naming it Fort Christainsborg after reigning Danish Kin Christain V.
After the expansion of the castle, a war in 1679 resulted in the assassination of the fort’s Danish commander. After the mutiny, a new leader, a Greek named Bolten, later sold the fort to the former Portuguese governor of Sao Tome. The Portuguese christened it ‘St. Francis Xavier’, added on a Roman Catholic chapel, and further fortified its bastions. A lack of trade success caused the Portuguese to resell the fort to the Danes in 1683, after a four-year occupancy. In 1685, the Osu castle became the capital of the Gold Coast of Denmark-Norway, taking over from Fort Frederiksborg.
Then again the Danish rulers were once again defeated and deposed after ten years (1693) by the powerful chef of Assameni, and his people, from the Akwamu state. They only use the fort for a year and were trading with other nations within that year.
Assameni then sold the Osu castle back to the Denmark-Norway for 50 marks of gold and that is a huge amount of money during that time. After they sold it to the Denmark-Norway, they didn’t return the castle keys. The Osu castle keys have ever since been a part of the still property of Akwamu.
The Danish initially was trading in gold and then later in slaves, necessitating further expansions of the castle such that finally the castle almost quadrupled its original size. The abolition of the slave trade by Denmark in1803 resulted in a severe trade slump. The castle was sold to the British in 1850.
After It Was Sold To The British
In 1850, the British bought all of Denmark’s Gold Coast possessions for £10,000 (between £850,000 and £1.5m in 2007), including Fort Christiansborg. Denmark had been considering selling these outposts for some time. After the slave trade had been abolished they were expensive to run and brought little benefit.
The British did well with the castle and also help prevent illegal slave trading. In 1862, there was an earthquake and it destroyed most of the upper floor of the castle, but it was rebuilt. After 1876, British colonial governors ruled from the castle. They abandoned it from 1890 to 1901, when it was used as a constabulary mess, and later as a psychiatric asylum. In 1902, Christiansburg Castle once again became the seat of government, and today, the elegant edifice houses the offices of the President of Ghana.
Its location by the Atlantic Ocean was advantageous for trading purposes The Osu castle was the reason Jamestown lighthouse was built. Making it easy for them to identify ships that were arriving at the coast in other to regulate them.
What the Osu Castle Was Used For (The Dark Secret)
Even though it was used to transport gold and other materials but it was also used for slave trading. Slaves were kept in dungeons at the ends of the castle, transporting them through the DOOR OF NO RETURN to the arriving ships. The castle was the last place slaves see before leaving their motherland.
Best Things To Do At Osu Castle
1.Site Seeing
Since the castle is open to tourists, visitors are allowed to tour through the castle such as the credential rooms used by former British officials and former Ghanaian president, slave dungeons, a walkway to the DOOR OF NO RETURN, a water reserve, and the church inside the castle.
2.Photo exhibition
Visitors are allowed to see display photos of great Ghanaians in history such as Efua T. Sutherland, Azumah Nelson as well as other Pan-Africanist.
3.Taking Pictures Of The Castle
Tourists and photographers are allowed to take pictures of the castle. There are unlimited things at Osu castle photographers can capture like old fishing boats, extensive gardens with a wide variety of plans and artifacts.
How To Get To Osu Castle
There are so many ways to get to the Osu castle and that will depend on where you are staying or where you will be staying in Ghana. But if you are looking to explore Ghana or Accra then, Using the minibus (trotro) can be the best way to get to Osu Castle. That is when you want to explore other places before getting to the castle and it’s the cheapest way to see the castle.
If visiting the castle is your only plan for the day, then using the taxi or online taxi (Uber or Bolt) is the best and simple way to get to Osu castle. It may be a little expensive than using the minibusses (trotro).
Top Nearby Attrations
1.Independence Square
Probably you have seen it on the internet before and that is one of the popular places in Ghana. That is where tourists take pictures in front of the independence arch.
2.Jamestown Light House
You may love to explore the beautiful art street of Jamestown and also see the lighthouse where the colonial ruler used to monitor the sea for other ships coming.