This list of castles in Africa includes castles,

fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

s, and mock castles in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

Angola

Fortaleza de São Miguel Fortaleza (, locally , Portuguese for ''Fortress'') is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeastern Brazil. It belongs to the Metropolitan mesoregion of Fortaleza and microregion of Fortaleza. It is Brazil's 5th largest city and the ...

(1641–1648) * Fort Naulila, Cunene Province * Fort Cuangar, Cunene Province

Egypt

Buhen Buhen ( grc, Βοὥν ''Bohón'') was an ancient Egyptian settlement situated on the West bank of the Nile below (to the North of) the Second Cataract in what is now Northern State, Sudan. It is now submerged in Lake Nasser, Sudan; as a resu ...

(c. 1860 BCE) *

Cairo Citadel The Citadel of Cairo or Citadel of Saladin ( ar, قلعة صلاح الدين, Qalaʿat Salāḥ ad-Dīn) is a medieval Islamic-era fortification in Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt ...

(12th century) *

Citadel of Qaitbay The Citadel of Qaitbay (or the Fort of Qaitbay; ar, قلعة قايتباي) is a 15th-century defensive fortress located on the Mediterranean sea coast, in Alexandria, Egypt. It was built from 1477 to 1479 AD (882–884 AH) by Sultan Al-Ash ...

(15th century)

Ethiopia

Fasil Ghebbi The Fasil Ghebbi ( am, ፋሲል ግቢ) is a fortress located in Gondar, Amhara Region, Ethiopia. It was founded in the 17th century by Emperor Fasilides and was the home of Ethiopian emperors. Its unique architecture shows diverse influence ...

Gondar Gondar, also spelled Gonder (Amharic: ጎንደር, ''Gonder'' or ''Gondär''; formerly , ''Gʷandar'' or ''Gʷender''), is a city and woreda in Ethiopia. Located in the North Gondar Zone of the Amhara Region, Gondar is north of Lake Tana on t ...

(17th century)

Gambia

* Fort James (1651) * Fort Jillifree,

Jufureh Jufureh (also spelled Juffureh or Juffure) is a town in the Gambia, 30 kilometers inland on the north bank of the River Gambia in the North Bank Division near James Island. The town is home to a museum and Fort Jillifree. Jufureh is known for i ...

Ghana

Cape Coast Castle Cape Coast Castle ( sv, Carolusborg) is one of about forty "slave castles", or large commercial forts, built on the Gold Coast of West Africa (now Ghana) by European traders. It was originally a Portuguese "feitoria" or trading post, establish ...

, Cape Coast (1688–1782, April 1659 – May 1659) * Elmina Castle,

Elmina Elmina, also known as Edina by the local Fante, is a town and the capital of the Komenda/Edina/Eguafo/Abirem District on the south coast of Ghana in the Central Region, situated on a bay on the Atlantic Ocean, west of Cape Coast. Elmina w ...

(1482) * English Fort ( Fort Vrendenburg), Komenda (1785–1871) *

Fort Amsterdam Fort Amsterdam was a fort on the southern tip of Manhattan at the confluence of the Hudson and East rivers. It was the administrative headquarters for the Dutch and then English/British rule of the colony of New Netherland and subsequently th ...

, Abandze, Cormantin (1665–1721, 1785–1867) *

Fort Apollonia Fort Apollonia is a fort in Beyin, Ghana. The name Apollonia was given to the area by a Portuguese explorer who sighted the place on the Feast of Saint Apollonia, 9 February. Because of its importance during the European colonial period and its te ...

Beyin Beyin is a village in the Jomoro district, a district in the Western Region of Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

(16??–16??, 1868–1871) *

Fort Batenstein Fort Batenstein was a fort and trading post established by the Dutch on the Gold Coast in 1656. It was situated near Butre (old spelling: ''Boutry''). The fort was ceded with the entire Dutch Gold Coast to Britain in 1872. At this fort, the Trea ...

Butri Butre is a village in the Ahanta West district, district in the Western Region of Ghana. Butre contains the Fort Batenstein Fort Batenstein was a fort and trading post established by the Dutch on the Gold Coast in 1656. It was situated near But ...

(1656–1665, 1666–1871) * Fort Crêvecoeur, Accra (1649–1782, 1785–1867/8) *

Fort Dorothea Akwidaa is a small town and fishing village in Ahanta West district, a district in the Western Region of south-west Ghana, and is one of the southernmost places in Ghana. Economy The economy is primarily based upon fishing, with many fishing ...

Akwida Akwidaa is a small town and fishing village in Ahanta West district, a district in the Western Region of south-west Ghana, and is one of the southernmost places in Ghana. Economy The economy is primarily based upon fishing, with many fishing ...

(1687–1698, 1711–1712, 1732–1804) *

Fort Good Hope Fort Good Hope (formerly ''Fort Hope'', ''Fort Charles'', also now known as the ''Charter Community of K'asho Got'ine''), is a charter community in the Sahtu Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is located on a peninsula between Jackf ...

(Fort Goedehoop), Senya Beraku (1667/1705–1782, 1785–1868) * Fort Hollandia (1725–1815, previously Gross-Friedrichsburg, part of the former Brandenburger Gold Coast settlements), sold to the Dutch by Prussia *

Fort Metal Cross Fort Metal Cross, originally Fort Dixcove, is a military structure located on a promontory at the fishing community of Infuma in Dixcove, in the Western Region of Ghana. Because of its history in the Atlantic slave trade and its testimony to Eur ...

(Metaal Kruis),

Dixcove Dixcove is a coastal village and a fishing community in the Ahanta West district, a district in the Western Region of South Ghana, located approximately 35 km west of the regional capital of Sekondi-Takoradi. The current Paramount Chief of Up ...

(1868–1871) * Fort Nassau, present Moree (1598/1611–1664, 1665–1782, 1785–1867) * Fort Oranje,

Sekondi Sekondi-Takoradi is a city in Ghana comprising the twin cities of Sekondi and Takoradi. It is the capital of Sekondi – Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly and the Western Region of Ghana. Sekondi-Takoradi is the region's largest city and an indu ...

(1640–1871) *

Fort Patience Fort Patience (Dutch: ''Fort Lijdzaamheid'', or, in 17th-century spelling, ''Fort Leydsaemheyt'') is a Dutch-built fort located in the township of Apam, in the Central Region, Ghana, Central Region of Ghana. Originally built in 1697, it served as a ...

(Fort Leydsaemhyt),

Apam Apam is a coastal town and capital of Gomoa West District in the Central Region of Ghana, located approximately 45 kilometers east of the Central Region capital, Cape Coast. Apam is the site of Fort Lijdzaamheid or Fort Patience, a Dutch-built ...

(1697–1782, 1785–1868) *

Fort Prinzenstein Fort Prinzenstein ( da, Fort Prinsensten) 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. Keta served as an open po ...

Keta Keta is a coastal town in the Volta Region of Ghana. It is the capital of the Keta Municipal District. Keta was an important trading post between the 14th and the late 20th centuries. The town attracted the interest of the Danish, because they ...

* Fort Saint Antony, Axim (February 1642 – 1664, 1665–1671) * Fort San Sebastian,

Shema ''Shema Yisrael'' (''Shema Israel'' or ''Sh'ma Yisrael''; he , שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל ''Šəmaʿ Yīsrāʾēl'', "Hear, O Israel") is a Jewish prayer (known as the Shema) that serves as a centerpiece of the morning and evening Jewis ...

(1637–1664, 1664–1871) * Fort St. Jago (Fort Conraadsburg),

Osu Castle Osu Castle (also known as Fort Christiansborg or the Castle) is a castle located in Osu, Ghana on the coast of the Gulf of Guinea in Africa. A substantial fort was built by Denmark-Norway in the 1660s, thereafter the fort changed ownership ...

(

Fort Christiansborg Osu Castle (also known as Fort Christiansborg or the Castle) is a castle located in Osu, Ghana on the coast of the Gulf of Guinea in Africa. A substantial fort was built by Denmark-Norway in the 1660s, thereafter the fort changed ownership ...

), Osu, Accra

Kenya

Fort Jesus Fort Jesus (Portuguese: ''Forte Jesus de Mombaça, Spanish: Fuerte de Jesús'') is a fort located on Mombasa Island. Designed by Italian Giovanni Battista Cairati, it was built between 1593 and 1596 by order of King Felipe II of Castille, ...

Mombasa, Kenya Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

(1593–?) *

Thimlich Ohinga Thimlich Ohinga is a complex of stone-built ruins in Migori county, Nyanza Kenya, in East Africa. It is the largest one of 138 sites containing 521 stone structures that were built around the Lake Victoria region in Kenya. These sites are high ...

, Migori, Kenya (c. 500 – 1400)

Libya

* Cyrene Citadel *

El Tag El Tag (; also ''Al-Tag'', ''Al-Taj'') is a village and holy site in the Kufra Oasis, within the Libyan Desert subregion of the Sahara. It is in the Kufra District in the southern Cyrenaica region of southeastern Libya. The Arabic ''el tag'' trans ...

Kufra Kufra () is a basinBertarelli (1929), p. 514. and oasis group in the Kufra District of southeastern Cyrenaica in Libya. At the end of nineteenth century Kufra became the centre and holy place of the Senussi order. It also played a minor role in ...

Oasis (mid 1930s) * Fort Capuzzo * Ghat Fortress * Sabha Citadel * Saraya El Hamra, Tripoli

Madagascar

* Fort Flacourt,

Tolanaro Fort-Dauphin (Malagasy Tolagnaro or Taolagnaro) is a city (''commune urbaine'') on the southeast coast of Madagascar. It is the capital of the Anosy Region and of the Taolagnaro District. It has been a port of local importance since the early 150 ...

(1643) * Fort lalana Sylvain Roux,

Île Sainte-Marie Nosy Boraha , previously known as Sainte-Marie, main town Ambodifotatra, is an island off the east coast of Madagascar. The island forms an administrative district within Analanjirofo Region, and covers an area of 222 km2. It has a popul ...

(1753) * Fort Rova,

Majunga Mahajanga (French: Majunga) is a city and an administrative district on the northwest coast of Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: Rép ...

(1824) * Fort Voyron,

Antananarivo Antananarivo (French language, French: ''Tananarive'', ), also known by its colonial shorthand form Tana, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Madagascar. The administrative area of the city, known as Antananarivo-Renivohitra ("An ...

(1940–1945) *Windsor Castle,

Antsiranana Antsiranana ( mg, Antsiran̈ana ), named Diego-Suárez prior to 1975, is a city in the far north of Madagascar. Antsiranana is the capital of Diana Region. It had an estimated population of 115,015 in 2013. History The bay and city originally u ...

(1940–1945)

Mozambique

Fort São Caetano Fort São Caetano is a 16th century fort that was built in the 16th century in what is now Sofala, Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is ...

Sofala Sofala, at present known as Nova Sofala, used to be the chief seaport of the Mwenemutapa Kingdom, whose capital was at Mount Fura. It is located on the Sofala Bank in Sofala Province of Mozambique. It was founded by Somali merchants. This name w ...

(1505) * São Sebastião (1558–1608)

Nigeria

* Kajuru Castle,

Kajuru Kajuru ( Adara: Ajure) is a local government area in southern Kaduna State, Nigeria. Its headquarters is in the town of Kajuru. The local government is located on longitude 9° 59'N and 10° 55'N and latitude 7° 34'E and 8° 13'E, with an area of ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

(1981–1989)

Senegal

* Fort Nassau * Fort Oranje

Sierra Leone

* Fort Bunce (1670–1840) * Fort Lomboko (before 1839–1849) * Fort Tasso (1160–?) * Fort Thornton (1792) *

Fort York Fort York (french: Fort-York) is an early 19th-century military fortification in the Fort York neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The fort was used to house members of the British and Canadian militaries, and to defend the entrance of t ...

(after 1672 – around 1729) * unnamed fort close to Tanguarim (15th century)

Somalia

* Castle town of

Qandala Qandala (also known as Candala, Andala, Bender Chor, Bandar Kor, Bender Kor or Taba Tege) is an ancient port town in the northeastern Bari province of Somalia. Overview Qandala sits on a wadi estuary, which forms a natural protective harbor fo ...

, Bari,

Puntland Puntland ( so, Puntland, ar, أرض البنط, it, Terra di Punt or ''Paese di Punt''), officially the Puntland State of Somalia ( so, Dowlad Goboleedka Puntland ee Soomaaliya, ar, ولاية أرض البنط الصومالية), is a F ...

(no longer existent) * Citadel ruins of

Gondershe Gondershe, also known as Gandershe or El Torre, is an ancient landmark on the Somali Sea, as well as a town, in the Lower Shabelle region of Southwest State of Somalia. It is noted for its various historical structures. Overview Gendershe (al ...

Banaadir Banaadir ( so, Banaadir, ar, بنادر, it, Benadir) is an administrative region ('' gobol'') in southeastern Somalia. It covers the same area as the city of Mogadishu, which serves as the capital. It is bordered to the northwest by the Shabel ...

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

* Dhulbahante Garesa,

Eyl Eyl ( it, Eil) is an ancient port town in the northeastern Nugal region of Somalia in the autonomous Puntland region, also serving as the capital of the Eyl District. Eyl, also called Illig, was the capital of the Dervishes from 1905 onwards, unt ...

, Puntland * Dhulbahante Garesa,

Taleh Taleh ( so, Taleex, ar, تليح) is a historical town in the eastern Sool region of Somaliland. As of September 2015, both Puntland and Somaliland had nominal influence or control in Taleh and it's vicinity. The town served as the capital ...

Sool Sool ( so, Sool, ar, صول) is an administrative region ('' gobol'') in south eastern Somaliland/north western Somalia. It borders Togdheer to the west, Sanaag to the north, Ethiopia to the south and Nugal, Bari to the east. Its capital city ...

, Somaliland

South Africa

* Castle Kyalami,

Gauteng Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only ...

(1990s) *

Castle of Good Hope The Castle of Good Hope ( nl, Kasteel de Goede Hoop; af, Kasteel die Goeie Hoop) known locally as the Castle or Cape Town Castle is a bastion fort built in the 17th century in Cape Town, South Africa. Originally located on the coastline of T ...

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

(1666) * Castle on the Cliff,

Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

(1960s) * Craighross Castle, Noetzie, Western Cape *

Fort Beaufort Fort Beaufort ( Xhosa: iBhofolo) is a town in the Amatole District of South Africa's Eastern Cape Province, and had a population of 25,668 in 2011. The town was established in 1837 and became a municipality in 1883. The town lies at the conflu ...

, Eastern Cape (1822–1837) * Fort Durnford,

Estcourt Estcourt () 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, link ...

, KwaZulu-Natal (1847) *

Fort Hare Fort Hare was an 1835 British-built fort on a rocky outcrop at the foothills of the Amatola Mountains; close to the present day town of Alice, Eastern Cape in South Africa. History Originally, Fort Hare was a British fort in the wars between t ...

Alice, Eastern Cape Alice is a small town in Eastern Cape, South Africa that is named after Princess Alice, the daughter of the British Queen Victoria. It was settled in 1824 by British colonists it's adjacent to the Tyhume River. It has rail and road connectio ...

(19th century) * Fort Mistake, Glencoe, KwaZulu-Natal *

Greylingstad Greylingstad (Afrikaans for ''Greyling City''), officially Nthorwane, is a small farming town west of Standerton in Mpumalanga, South Africa. History Early 20th century The town was founded in 1909 by the Dutch Reformed Church and was named ...

, Mpumalanga (c. 1900) * Knoetzie Castles, Western Cape (1930s) * Lindsay Castle, Noetzie, Western Cape * Voortrekker Fort,

Ohrigstad Ohrigstad (Afrikaans for ''Ohrig city''), formerly Andries Orieg Stad, is a small town to the north of Lydenburg in the Limpopo province, South Africa. History A fort was established by a group of Voortrekkers under the leadership of Andries Hend ...

, Mpumalanga

Sudan

* Semna West Fort,

Semna (Nubia) The region of Semna is 15 miles south of Wadi Halfa and is situated where rocks cross the Nile narrowing its flow—the Semna Cataract. Semna was a fortified area established in the reign of Senusret I (1965–1920 BC) on the west bank of the N ...

, (1965–1920 BCE)

Tanzania

* Bagamoyo Fort,

Bagamoyo Bagamoyo, is a historic coastal town founded at the end of the 18th century, though it is an extension of a much older (8th century) Swahili settlement, Kaole. It was chosen as the capital of German East Africa by the German colonial administra ...

(c. 1860 German colonial fortified building) * Ikoma Fort,

Serengeti National Park The Serengeti National Park is a large national park in northern Tanzania that stretches over . It is located entirely in eastern Mara Region and north east portion of Simiyu Region and contains over of virgin savanna. The park was established in ...

(19th century German colonial fort) *

Ngome Kongwe Ngome may mean: *Ngome (bread), a flatbread of Mali * Ngome, KwaZulu-Natal, a location near Nongoma, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa *Ngome Forest, forest near Nongoma, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa *Ngome Marian Shrine, a Marian apparition site near Non ...

(Old Fort), Stone Town,

Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islan ...

(c. 1700) *Old Portuguese fort, Kilwa Kisiwani (c. 1500)

Tunisia

Borj El Kebir Borj El Kebir, also known as Borj El Ghazi Mustapha, is an ancient castle in Houmt El Souk, Tunisia on the island of Djerba. It is the largest and best preserved local castle, and is one of the most visited historical sites on the island. Etymo ...

, Djerba island (14th century) * Borj El Kebir (Mahdia),

Mahdia Governorate Mahdia Governorate () is in central-eastern Tunisia, named after its largest town and administrative centre. It comprises an area of coastal relative lowland, but extends further inland than its coastal length. It is one of the twenty-four gover ...

(16th century) *

Kasbah of Le Kef Kasbah of Le Kef ( ar, قصبة الكاف) is a kasbah fortification in the city of El Kef, Tunisia. The kasbah was constructed in 1600 during the Ottoman rule of the local tribes and borders, as one of the many forts established for the monitor ...

Kef Governorate Kef Governorate ( ' ) is one of the twenty-four governorates of Tunisia. It comprises chiefly part of the dorsal Atlas Mountains and their foothills in north-western Tunisia, bordering Algeria. It covers an area of 4,965 km2 and has a popul ...

, (c. 1612) *

Kasbah of Sfax Kasbah of Sfax is a kasbah, an Islamic desert fortress, located in the southwestern corner of the ancient city of Sfax. It was used for a different purposes throughout the history, first a control tower built by the Aghlabids on the coast, then ...

(9th-century) *

Kelibia Fort Kelibia Fort is a citadel built in the sixteenth century, situated on a rocky promontory 150 meters high overlooking the Mediterranean Sea and the city of Kélibia in the Governorate of Nabeul, on the northeast coast of the Tunisian peninsula of ...

Kelibia Kelibia (Kélibia) ( ar, قليبية, link=no '), often referred to as Klibia or Gallipia by European writers, is a coastal town on the Cap Bon peninsula, Nabeul Governorate in the far north-eastern part of Tunisia. Its sand beaches are consider ...

(5th century bc, 16th century) * Ribat of Monastir, Monastir (c. 796) * Ribat of Sousse, Sousse (c. 812)

Zambia

* Lundazi Castle, Eastern Province

Zimbabwe

*Fort Victoria,

Masvingo Masvingo is a city in south-eastern Zimbabwe and the capital of Masvingo Province. The city is situated close to Great Zimbabwe, the national monument from which the country takes its name and close to Lake Mutirikwi, its recreational park, ...

* Great Zimbabwe (11th–15th century) *

Nesbitt Castle Nesbitt Castle, formerly Holdengarde Castle, is a 20th-century neo-gothic castle near Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. It was built by business man Theodore Holdengarde in the 1920s. Construction Theodore Albert Edward Holdengarde (born ''Theodore Garde'', ...

, Bulawayo

References

{{Africa in topic, List of castles in

Castles A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified ...

List, Africa