The Dutch Cemetery in the old town of Elmina is a quiet, overgrown reminder of three centuries of European presence. Many of the tombstones date from the 17th and 18th centuries, with inscriptions in Dutch and Latin. The graves include merchants, soldiers, and officials who died in the service of the Dutch West India Company — many from tropical diseases rather than violence.
The cemetery is tucked into the fabric of the old town, not heavily signposted, and easy to miss. It is worth seeking out for the inscriptions, which record the abbreviated lives of men posted to a distant and frequently fatal outpost. The contrast between the formal Dutch funerary language and the humid, overgrown setting makes for a particular kind of historical atmosphere. Entry is usually free.