Place Jacques-Cartier
The Place Jacques-Cartier is a place in Montreal . It is located in the old town ( Vieux-Montréal ) in the arrondissement of Ville-Marie . The square leads from Rue Notre-Dame on the west side with a considerable gradient down to the old port on the east side. It is named after the French navigator Jacques Cartier .
description
Diagonally across from the western end of the approximately 200-meter-long square is the Hôtel de Ville , Montreal's city hall. The Château Ramezay is located slightly offset on the north side, separated by a small park . The square is lined with several commercial and warehouse buildings from the first half of the 19th century, the oldest being the Maison Jacob Wurtele from 1804. There are also two hotels from the second half of the 19th century. One thing these buildings have in common is the use of gray limestone as a building material.
The traffic-calmed square is a popular destination for tourists, especially in the summer months, with flower and art markets, street artists and numerous restaurants. In the middle of the square is the Nelson's Column , a 19 meter high monument in honor of the British Admiral Horatio Nelson . On the Place Jacques-Cartier , the contours of the former city wall were made visible in the flooring .
history
Philippe de Rigaud de Vaudreuil , Governor General of New France, bought a piece of land in 1721 and had a representative house built, in which he lived until his death in 1725. His heirs rented the house to the subsequent governors-general until 1760. The Collège de Montréal began using the building in 1773, but it burned down in 1803 and was never rebuilt. The city was looking for a large enough open space to run a market on, and acquired the eastern half of the property that was no longer in use.
A wooden market hall was built by 1808. In 1809 the Nelson's Column was erected in the middle of the square to commemorate Nelson's victory at the Battle of Trafalgar , over three decades before the much more famous London Nelson's Column . After the opening of the market hall Marché Bonsecours in 1847, the market hall on Place Jacques-Cartier was demolished. As agreed in the assignment agreement of 1803, the place remained as a market. In 1997 the city undertook redevelopment work.
Web links
- Architectural information (French)
- Historical photos and illustrations of Place Jacques-Cartier (McCord Museum) (French)
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Place Jacques-Cartier. In: Vieux-Montréal. City of Montreal and Province of Québec, accessed October 1, 2011 (French).
Coordinates: 45 ° 30 ′ 28.3 " N , 73 ° 33 ′ 10.6" W.