Kumasi · GH

Manhyia Palace Museum

The Manhyia Palace Museum is the cultural heart of Kumasi and one of West Africa's most distinctive heritage sites — a museum created not by a national government but by the Asante people themselves, housed in the very building where their kings once ruled. Built in 1925 by the British for Asantehene Prempeh I upon his return from 28 years of exile, it became a museum in 1995 and now draws over 100,000 visitors annually to explore the regalia, effigies, and stories of the Asante Kingdom. The experience combines a short video introduction with guided tours through preserved royal rooms filled with original furniture, lifelike wax figures of past kings and queen mothers, and collections of gold regalia, state swords, and ceremonial objects. In 2024, the museum made international headlines by hosting the repatriation of 32 royal treasures looted by British forces over 150 years ago.