The castle was built in the 1940s (Image: Wikimedia)
Togo is small country in and whilst it only sees hundreds of thousands of visitors, tourism in the African country is expected to grow in the upcoming years.
It features a number of including its popular Coco Beach, an art and culture centre called Palais De Lome and the Tamberma Villages, which are small fortified towers made from clay.
As well as the number of tourist hostpots the country boasts, it is also home to an intriguing place that attracts a different type of tourism.
The city of Kpalime located in Southern Togo is home to an that has become a popular tourist attraction in the country.
The Chateau Viale is the name of the castle which consists of a main building and tower.
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The story dates back to the early 1940s when a German lawyer who was working with the Togolese government built the castle. He then handed it over the government and from 1978 it housed Gnassingbe Eyadema, who was the Togolese president at the time.
During the authoritarian rule of President Gnassingbe Eyadema, the country suffered political instability referred to as the “Togo Crisis.”
In order to protect himself Gnassingbe Eyadema lived at the castle with his family until 1990. When necessary he would take a helicopter over the Lome, Togo’s capital city and then travel back at night time.
Over the years the castle has deteriorated and is full of graffiti, yet it has became a tourist haven, with travellers and locals paying a visit to the site which holds many stories.
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The castle is located in Kpalime (Image: Getty)
One person who visited the castle in June 2024 said: “Hotel with a very important history, so I recommend you take a guide. The view is magnificent, but can have an even more beautiful one by climbing up a tower next to the ministerial quarters (beware no security or railing at the top).”
Another who travelled from China said: “We were in the area, so we decided to have a look at the place. The story of the French- German lawyer who came on a horse, decided to build here his chateau, sold it later at an advanced age to the president and now the future plans for it is all nice.
“The location and view are also impressing, but all in all the place is totally neglected and at some point quite revolting.”