The capital of the U. S. Virgin Islands Charlotte Amalie on St. Thomas island is mostly flooded by cruise ship passengers walking between many duty-free shops in the city center. One may think it is a crowded ordinary shopping mall, but the pastel-painted houses, narrow streets and the Danish-English street signs remind that this is an old Caribbean town with Danish heritage.

The Danish Fort Christian in Charlotte Amalie is the oldest standing structure in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The ochre-colored fort was built between 1666 and 1680 to defend Danish colony. Over the years it has served as Government house, court, jail, a church, community center and police station.