Lunenburg, Nova Scotia (town)
See also Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia or Lunenburg, Nova Scotia (municipal district).Lunenburg () is a small town on the
South Shore of
Nova Scotia,
Canada approximately 90
kilometres southwest of
Halifax, on the
Atlantic coast. Its population in 2001 was 2,568. During the summer, large numbers of
tourists increase the area's population.
Lunenburg was founded in
1753 and was named in honour of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, (
George II), who was also the Duke of
Brunswick-Lunenburg.
At one time an important
seaport and
shipbuilding centre, the town is now home to numerous small businesses, high-tech industries and trade plants including
High Liner Foods, which was at one point the largest fish plant in Canada. This plant now handles little more than manufacturing and most fishing is done offshore.
The critically-acclaimed power pop/rock trio
Air Traffic Control has its independent recording studio located in the town.
World Heritage Site
|
Lunenburg's World War I memorial |
The historic town was designated a
UNESCO World Heritage Site in
1995. This designation ensures protection for much of Lunenburg's unique architecture and civic design, being the best example of planned
British colonial settlement in North America.
Lunenburg is the birthplace of the world famous
schooner Bluenose and her daughter
Bluenose II which remains an important tourist attraction in the town, her home port. Tourism is now Lunenburg's most important industry and many thousands visit the town each year. A number of restaurants, inns, hotels and shops exist to service the tourist trade including the
Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic.
The original inhabitants of Lunenburg (mostly
Germans from the southern
Rhineland,
Swiss and
French protestants from
Montbeliard) came during the same wave of immigration that produced the
Pennsylvania Dutch. They were "
Foreign Protestants" encouraged by the
British to settle in the area. Many of the original families and descendants still inhabit and influence the development of the town today.
Lunenburg County is named after the town.
*
Town of Lunenburg*
World Heritage site*
Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic*
Lunenburg in Pennsylvania Dutch *
Photographs of the Montbeliard monument, Lunenburg
