Grand-Pré
| Grand-Pré | |||
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 Grand-Pré National Historic Site |
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| Location in Nova Scotia | |||
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| State : |
 Canada
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| Province : | Nova Scotia | ||
| County: | Kings County | ||
| Coordinates : | 45 ° 6 ′ N , 64 ° 18 ′ W | ||
| Height : | 0 m - 92 m | ||
| Time zone : | Atlantic Time ( UTC − 4 ) | ||
| Postal code : | B4P | ||
| Area code : | +1 902 | ||
| Foundation : | 1680 | ||
Grand-Pré is a Unincorporated Place in Nova Scotia , Canada . Grand-Pré is located on the banks of the Minas Basin 83 km northwest of Halifax .
The place was founded shortly before 1680 by Acadians . The name refers to a 1,000 hectare fertile marshland that encouraged settlers to settle east of Port Royal to take advantage of the land on the banks of the Minas Basin. The settlers used traditional French dike construction techniques to protect the low-lying swamp from the tides of the salty seawater . The farmers exported their products to Port-Royal, other French colonies and New England every year .
At the beginning of the 18th century, Grand-Pré was the center of Les Mines (Minas), the most populous of three Acadian regions. In the 1740s it consisted of 150 houses that stretched along a line about 4 km long. On February 11, 1747, the Battle of Grand-Pré took place here, a surprise attack by French and Indians on British troops during the War of the Austrian Succession .
The romantic poem Evangeline by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow recalls the tragic events of the Acadian deportation in Grand-Pré in 1755. In 1917, a plot of land near the village center was chosen to become a tourist attraction , and in 1920 a bronze statue of Evangeline was added and in 1930 a memorial chapel in the style of French architecture from the mid-18th century was inaugurated. The area has now become the Grand Pré National Historic Park .
The Grand Pré cultural landscape has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2012 .
Web links
- Debra Mcnabb: Grand Pré ( English, French ) In: The Canadian Encyclopedia . July 15, 2015. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
- Grand Pré cultural landscape on the UNESCO World Heritage Center website ( English and French ).
- Official website of the Grand-Pré National Historic Site
- Grand-Pré National Historic Site at Parks Canada