Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada --- waterfront by T. E. Smith-Lamothe

Canon G7

Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada has been designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and a significant National Historic Site by the government of Canada. It was a British colonial town established in 1753 to introduce Protestant colonists into the Colony when it was largely populated only by Catholic French Acadians and Natives. The French still occupied nearby Cape Breton Island at the Fortress of Louisbourg and both Halifax (founded 1749) and Lunenburg were strategic counter- moves in the on-going French versus English chess game played out in Europe and around the world at the time. The town was laid out in a strict grid pattern despite the steep hills leading to the harbourfront and through it's over 250 year history the layout and many of the buildings from the 1700's have survived. The Protestants who arrived in 1753 were mainly of German, Swiss and French (from the Montbeliard region) origins. Lunenburg is famous for the shipyard which built the Bluenose, the schooner which is pictured on the back of Canadian dimes. The Bluenose was undefeated in fishing schooner races against several Massachusettes challengers in the 1920's. A replica of the Bluenose (the Bluenose II) was built using the same shipwright plans and is Nova Scotia's official sailing ambassador. For more information, visit: www.explorelunenburg.ca