Elmina
Sign in to saveAlso known as Edina
Elmina (Fante: Edina) is a town and the capital of the Komenda/Edina/Eguafo/Abirem District on the south coast of Ghana in the Central Region. It is situated on a bay on the Atlantic Ocean, west of Cape Coast. Elmina was the first European settlement in West Africa and it has a population of 33,576 people, as of 2013. The current Municipality chief of Elmina is Solomon Ebo Appiah.
Weather now
cached 35h agoPlace details
- Locality
- Elmina
- Region
- Central Region
- Country
- Ghana
- Population
- 34,403
- Timezone
- Africa/Accra
via OpenStreetMap · GeoNames
Key facts
- Settlement.official_name
- Elmina
- Settlement.settlement_type
- Town
- Settlement.imagesize
- 300px
- Settlement.image_caption
- Top picture: Skyline of Elmina, Bottom left picture: Elmina Castle Bottom right picture: Coast of Elmina on the Gulf of Guinea
- Settlement.blank_emblem_size
- 150px
- Settlement.etymology
- Elmina ("The mine")
- Settlement.pushpin_map
- Ghana#Africa
- Settlement.pushpin_label_position
- bottom
- Settlement.pushpin_map_caption
- Location of Elmina in Central Region, South Ghana
- Settlement.subdivision_type
- Country
- Settlement.subdivision_type1
- Region
- Settlement.subdivision_name1
- Central Region
- Settlement.subdivision_type2
- District
- Settlement.subdivision_name2
- Komenda/Edina/Eguafo/Abirem Municipal District
- Settlement.leader_title
- Municipal chief
- Settlement.leader_name
- Hon. Solomon Ebo Appiah
- Settlement.population_as_of
- 2013
- Settlement.population_total
- 33,576
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Official website
- keeama.gov.gh
- Image
- Benya lagoon and it surroundings located in Elmina.jpg
Show 2 more facts
- Commons category
- Elmina
- native label
- Elmina
Sources (3)
via Wikidata · CC0
Travel guide
Get in
From Accra, Kumasi or Takoradi by bus or Trotro, get off at Elmina Junction. Shared taxis are available there to take you into town or the castel
From Cape Coast, You can also take a shared taxi to Elmina town
Get around
Within Elmina, shared taxis are very common. The Beach Resorts in Ampenyi or Brenu Akinyim can be reached only by dropping cars and cost 10-12 Gh¢.
Do
The people in the town outside are generally friendly. However, be careful where you step if you walk on the beach. Apparently, the toilet facilities in the area are lacking.
Buy
During the tour of the Elmina Slave Castle, they bring you to a bookstore within the castle filled with reasonably priced books on the castle itself, slavery, important black leaders, and even some books on Ghanaian culture (the Ghanaian cookbook is worth a look). If you need more time to browse, return to this bookstore after the tour.
Eat
There is a restaurant inside the Elmina Slave Castle, but it's recommended that you eat elsewhere. The food is average, and you'll spend most of the meal swatting flies.
Go next
The main taxi and tro-tro station is outside the Wesley Methodist Cathedral. From here you can catch a tro-tro to Takoradi (C10) or passenger taxi to Cape Coast (C5).
Travel guide from Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA 4.0)
~11 min read
Article
21 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- History
- Early settlement
- Colonization era
- 17th Century to present
- Economy
- Tourism
- Fishing
- Demographics
- Administration
- Geography
- Municipality area
- Climate
- Culture
- Sister cities
- Notable people
- See also
- References
- Bibliography
- Further reading
- External links
Elmina (Fante: Edina) is a town and the capital of the Komenda/Edina/Eguafo/Abirem District on the south coast of Ghana in the Central Region. It is situated on a bay on the Atlantic Ocean, west of Cape Coast. Elmina was the first European settlement in West Africa and it has a population of 33,576 people, as of 2013. The current Municipality chief of Elmina is Solomon Ebo Appiah.
When the Portuguese, after first coming in contact with the Gold Coast, struck an agreement with the King of Elmina to build the São Jorge da Mina Castle in the 1470s, the settlement grew to become an important centre of commerce and trade in the region. Nowadays, Elmina shows strong influences from Europe in its culture and people.
Gallery (2)
On the map
5 mapped locations