Fort Gross-Friedrichsburg

Fort Gross Fredericksburg is a hilltop fortification on Manfro Hill at Princes Town, known locally as Pokesu, in the Ahanta West District of Ghana's Western Region. It stands about 5 km east of Fort Saint Antonio, between Axim to the west and Sekondi-Takoradi to the east. It is the only fort in Ghana of German construction.

The Brandenburg Africa Company, led by Benjamin Raule under the patronage of Frederick William of Brandenburg, built the fort as its African headquarters. Construction began in 1681 and was completed between 1683 and 1684, using stone imported by sea from Prussia; on completion it mounted 32 cannons. The Ahanta chief John Conny, the Brandenburgers' African broker, took over the fort after Brandenburg sold its possessions to the Dutch in 1717 and resisted Dutch attempts to retake it until the Dutch ousted him in 1724 and renamed it Fort Hollandia. The Dutch ceded it to Britain in 1872, and it became part of independent Ghana in 1957. An estimated 300,000 Africans were transported through the fort.

The fort is listed by the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board as a fort, monument, heritage site, cultural site and history site. Once ruined, it has been partially restored and now operates as a tourist attraction and rest house under the Board, which is the operator. The Board states the rest house accommodates ten people at a time at USD 3.00 per head.

Opening hours are given as 9:00am to 4:30pm by the Board and corroborated by Visit Ghana. Published entrance fees were reviewed in February 2013 and are dated: Ghanaian adults GH¢5.00, adult foreigners USD 10.00 or the cedi equivalent, foreign children USD 2.00, foreign students with ID USD 7.00, tertiary students with ID GH¢2.00, SHS students GH¢1.00 and pupils from primary to JHS 3 GH¢0.50. The Board has since announced a revised structure effective 1st July, published only as an image flyer, so current amounts are unverified and should be confirmed before travelling.

The Board lists a regional office contact for the fort, +233-3321 32529, at Cape Coast Castle, Cape Coast; no direct fort phone or email was found. Coordinates are approximately 4.7911, -2.1339.