Historical Museum of Ouidah

The Historical Museum of Ouidah is located inside the Portuguese Fort in Ouidah. Since its establishment, it served as a Portuguese diplomatic site. In 1961, it became the property of Dahomey. The museum has a large number of historical objects and illustrations of cultural significance such as music instruments. These allow the visitor to navigate in one space and understand the history of the region. The museum’s collections are divided according to six main themes namely The Portuguese Fort (the seat of the museum), The Kingdom of Xwéda , The Kingdom of Dahomey , the Slave Trade , Voodoo and The Cultural links between Benin and the New World.

The museum covers a hectare of land and within its walls is a home for officials of Portugal, a chapel, a garrison and barracks. Its collections are housed in the residence and temporary exhibitions are held in the chapel.

It has important collections accumulated as a result of several archaeological excavations in the area of Savi and Ouidah and cooperates as part of a research program with the University of Abomey in Benin.

The museum is administered by Micheline Egounlety and is part of the network of museums governed by the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Tourism.

It is open to members of the public from Monday to Friday at 08h00am until 12h00pm and again at 15h00pm until 18h00pm. On Saturday and Sunday, it is open from 09h00am to 18h00pm. During holidays and National Days it is open from 09h00am until 18h00pm.