Île des Sœurs
| Île des Sœurs | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Waters | Saint Lawrence River | |
| Archipelago | Hochelaga archipelago | |
| Geographical location | 45 ° 27 '40 " N , 73 ° 32' 51" W | |
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| length | 3 km | |
| width | 1 km | |
| surface | 3.74 km² | |
| Highest elevation | 50 m | |
| Residents | 16,000 4278 inhabitants / km² |
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The Île des Sœurs ("Island of the Nuns") is an island in the southwest of the Canadian province of Québec . It is located in the St. Lawrence River , belongs to the Hochelaga archipelago and is separated from the Île de Montréal by a 300 meter wide tributary. The 3.74 km² island is part of the Verdun arrondissement of the city of Montreal . Around 16,000 people live on the Île des Sœurs.
description
The Île des Sœurs can be reached via three motorway bridges that meet in the far north of the island. The Autoroute 15 (also called Autoroute Décarie) connects the Île des Sœurs via the Pont Champlain with the Île de Montréal and via the Pont de l'Île-des-Sœurs (which is part of the Pont Champlain) to the mainland. The Pont Clément leads to Autoroute 10 (Autoroute Bonaventure).
Due to its proximity to the city center, the island is predominantly a densely built-up residential area. With the exception of the northern end, it is largely free of through traffic, which is why real estate prices are above average. The 26 hectare Domaine Saint-Paul in the southern part is a natural wooded area. The area serves as a nesting place for over a hundred species of birds. Next to the forest is a small lake, Lac des Battures, which was created in the 1990s after a landfill was initially planned.
history
Originally the name was Île Saint-Paul, named after Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve , the founder of the city of Montreal. In 1634, Jean de Lauzon , later governor of New France , acquired the island. It was part of the extensive Seigneurie La Citière on the south bank of the Saint Lawrence River.
After various changes of ownership, the island was divided into the Seigneurien Saint-Paul and La Noue from 1668. In 1706 the nuns of the Congrégation de Notre-Dame de Montréal , a religious community founded by Marguerite Bourgeoys , acquired the Seigneurie La Noue. After the British conquest, the other seigneurie was auctioned off in 1769; the award went to the religious order, which remained in possession of the island for the next 250 years. The current name first appeared in the middle of the 19th century, at that time still in the English form Nuns' Island , and finally caught on around 1950.
The nuns farmed the island, built buildings and later employed women to help them raise cattle. As a result of a dispute between the order and the municipality of Verdun in a tax matter, the island, to which no bridge led, was declared an independent municipality, which was given the name L'Île-Saint-Paul. In 1956, the Order sold its land to the Quebec Home and Mortgage Company and gave up farming. In the same year, the provincial government ordered the merger of L'Île-Saint-Paul with Verdun.
With the opening of the Pont Champlain in 1962, the planned development of the Île des Sœurs began. The company Metropolitan Structures from Chicago consistently implemented a master plan by the planning office Johnson, Johnson, and Roy . The renowned German architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe played a key role in the design . According to his plans, three high-rise apartment buildings and a petrol station in the modernist style were built by 1969 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Le Domaine Saint-Paul, boisé de L'île-des-Sœurs. City of Montreal, Arrondissement Verdun, accessed September 1, 2011 (French).
- ↑ a b L'île des Sœurs. In: Grand répertoire du patrimoine bâti de Montréal. City of Montreal, November 20, 2007, accessed September 1, 2011 (French).
- ↑ Histoire de l'île des Sœurs. City of Montreal, Arrondissement Verdun, accessed September 1, 2011 (French).
- ↑ Île des Sœurs. Commission de toponymie Québec, accessed June 19, 2011 (French).
- ↑ L'Île-des-Sœurs. Commission de toponymie Québec, accessed September 1, 2011 (French).
- ↑ Les bâtiments de Mies Van Der Rohe. City of Montreal, Arrondissement Verdun, accessed September 1, 2011 (French).