EST. 2026 · ELMINA, GHANA
Welcome to Museum Elmina
Elmina As A Living Museum
DISCOVER ELMINA'S CULTURE, HISTORY & HERITAGE
Elmina is a town caught in a liminal space, where centuries-old traditions move side by side with 21st-century life. For over five centuries, its people have carried forward deep cultural memory. This is its living archive.
Explore the Site
Interactive Heritage Map
Click any pin to discover Elmina's key heritage landmarks, from the castle walls to the Benya Lagoon.
Tap a place to read about it. The full fifteen are a step below.
Elmina Castle
Built by the Portuguese in 1482 as São Jorge da Mina and taken by the Dutch in 1637; for more than three centuries a centre of the Atlantic gold and slave trades. A UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Get directions In research
Fort St. Jago
Raised by the Dutch in the 1660s on the hill from which they had taken the castle in 1637, so that no one could do the same to them.
Get directions Explore this site →
Watch Tower
A 15-metre lookout on the eastern edge of the old town, watching the road towards Cape Coast and signalling to the castle by way of Fort Java.
In researchThe Governor's Garden
The garden where the Dutch governor and senior officials took their leisure, with lawns and a menagerie. Its western stone gateway still stands.
In researchBrofo (Brɔfo) Bebanho
Brofo (Brɔfo) Bebanho, "the white man's marble stone": a black marble marker shaped like a tombstone, at the place where acting Governor-General Johannes Petrus Hoogenboom was killed in 1808.
In researchJava Hill
Cattoenbergh to the Dutch, and the site of Fort Java. Its name recalls the Belanda Hitam, men recruited on this coast for the Dutch East Indies between 1831 and 1872.
In research
Colonial-era Churches
Elmina's colonial-era churches, among them the Catholic church on St. Joseph's Hill, built from the 1880s partly with stone from the Dutch Fort Schomerus.
In research
Posuban Shrines
The shrines of Elmina's Asafo companies, decorated structures that hold each company's emblems and express its history and standing in the town.
In research
The Dutch Cemetery
Laid out in 1806 on the orders of Governor Hoogenboom; the resting place of Dutch officials, British nationals and prominent people of Elmina.
Get directions Explore this site →Nana Kobina Gyan I Square
Named for Nana Kobina Gyan I, Edinamanhen of Elmina, exiled by the British in 1873 for refusing to swear allegiance to the Crown. He returned in 1894.
Explore this site →Colonial Architecture
The merchant houses of the old town, built in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries by Dutch, Euro-African and Elmina families.
In research
The Benya Lagoon
The lagoon that shapes Elmina: its harbour, its fishing economy, and the setting of the Edina Bakatue, which opens the fishing season each July.
In research
Mpoben Fish Market
Where the catch is landed, sold and smoked: the working centre of Elmina's fishing economy, beside the Benya.
In research
Nana Kobina Benya Shrine
The shrine of Nana Kobina Benya, the lead deity of Elmina, beside the Benya Lagoon.
In research
The Ancestral Home
The old town of Elmina stood here until 13 June 1873, when it was destroyed by British bombardment, cleared to make a parade ground, and closed to the families who had lived on it. It has never been rebuilt.
Explore this site →
Elmina Castle
Built by the Portuguese in 1482 as São Jorge da Mina and taken by the Dutch in 1637; for more than three centuries a centre of the Atlantic gold and slave trades. A UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Get directions In research
Fort St. Jago
Raised by the Dutch in the 1660s on the hill from which they had taken the castle in 1637, so that no one could do the same to them.
Get directions Explore this site →
Watch Tower
A 15-metre lookout on the eastern edge of the old town, watching the road towards Cape Coast and signalling to the castle by way of Fort Java.
In research
Colonial-era Churches
Elmina's colonial-era churches, among them the Catholic church on St. Joseph's Hill, built from the 1880s partly with stone from the Dutch Fort Schomerus.
In research
Posuban Shrines
The shrines of Elmina's Asafo companies, decorated structures that hold each company's emblems and express its history and standing in the town.
In research
The Dutch Cemetery
Laid out in 1806 on the orders of Governor Hoogenboom; the resting place of Dutch officials, British nationals and prominent people of Elmina.
Get directions Explore this site →
The Benya Lagoon
The lagoon that shapes Elmina: its harbour, its fishing economy, and the setting of the Edina Bakatue, which opens the fishing season each July.
In research
Mpoben Fish Market
Where the catch is landed, sold and smoked: the working centre of Elmina's fishing economy, beside the Benya.
In research
Nana Kobina Benya Shrine
The shrine of Nana Kobina Benya, the lead deity of Elmina, beside the Benya Lagoon.
In research
The Ancestral Home
The old town of Elmina stood here until 13 June 1873, when it was destroyed by British bombardment, cleared to make a parade ground, and closed to the families who had lived on it. It has never been rebuilt.
Explore this site →The Time Capsule
The Same Place.
A Century Apart.
We have placed the past side by side with the present: the same streets, the same waterfront, the same skyline, separated by decades. Drag the divider. See what endures.
Step into the Archive
The Collection
Explore Elmina's Heritage Wings
A glimpse of Elmina's heritage, the built and the lived. The complete collection is gathered on the Culture page.
The Ancestral Home
The old town of Elmina stood on the peninsula until 13 June 1873. This is the ground, what was on it, and why it was never rebuilt.
Social Structure & Identity
Ten Ebusua descended from the matriarch Ekuwa Akon, seven still active in Edinaman, each with its own totem.
Fort St. Jago
Fort St. Jago, historically Fort São Tiago da Mina, has stood watch over Elmina Castle and the Atlantic since the 1660s.
From the Archive
Stories of Elmina
GMMB Partners with Dusu Studios to Bring Virtual Reality into Ghana’s Museums
Embracing the Future: Virtual Reality Arrives at the Museum of Science and Technology The landscape of historical and scientific education in Ghana is stepping into a new dimension.…
Read story
Museum Elmina Launch: Inside the New Virtual Gateway to Anomansa History
The countdown to the November launch of Museum Elmina has officially begun. Following our recent presentation to the Embassy of the Netherlands in Ghana, our communications desk is delighted to share a closer look at the core features of this upcoming digital portal.
Read storyOriginal Series · Museum Elmina
The Arrival Series
Elmina (Anomansa): Oral History of the Beginnings
The founding story of Elmina told through oral tradition: the Anomansa, the first settlers, and the covenant between people and place.
Episode 2 in production · View full series →
Plan Your Visit
Come to Elmina
Location
Elmina, Central Region
Ghana, West Africa
Heritage Tours
Guided & Self-Guided
360° Virtual Tours available
