Vieux-Montréal

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Vieux-Montréal, in the foreground the Old Port

Vieux-Montréal ( English Old Montreal ) is the old town of Montreal . It dates back to the 17th century and is located in the arrondissement of Ville-Marie . In the south, Vieux-Montreal extends to the Rue McGill, in the west to the Ruelle de la Fortification, in the north to the Rue Berri and in the east to the St. Lawrence River . The government of the province of Québec protected the old town as an arrondissement historique (historic district); this also includes the Old Port of Montreal .

history

Vieux Séminaire de Saint-Sulpice
Remains of the city walls
Hotel de Ville
Old customs house

Samuel de Champlain set up a temporary fur trading post in 1611 . As a location, he chose a headland at the mouth of the Petite Rivière river in the Saint Lawrence River , the Pointe-à-Callière . Around 40 French colonists landed at the same place in 1642 under the leadership of Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve and founded the Ville-Marie settlement on behalf of the Société Notre-Dame de Montréal . In 1663 the lordship passed to the Sulpizian order . The local head of the order, François Dollier de Casson , carried out extensive measurements in 1672 and established a binding street grid. The rue Notre-Dame , rue Saint-Paul and rue Saint-Jacques were among the first streets to be measured . Buildings from this era are the Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal , the Vieux Séminaire de Saint-Sulpice and the parish church of Notre-Dame. The traditional building material is gray limestone , which was quarried in quarries in the northern part of the Île de Montréal .

After the city was fortified with a wooden palisade in 1687, the Montreal city walls were built between 1717 and 1738 under the direction of the royal builder Gaspard-Joseph Chaussegros de Léry . They were up to 6.4 meters high and 3.5 kilometers long; its course essentially corresponds to the border of today's Vieux-Montréal. From 1804 to 1817 the city walls were torn down again as more and more residents moved from the walled part to the suburbs. In the 1990s, archaeologists uncovered a 250-meter-long section in the Champ-de-Mars park , the former parade ground.

The conquest of New France by the British in 1760 initially had no particular impact on the architecture. French-influenced architectural styles continued to dominate until the end of the 18th century. On May 18, 1765 and April 11, 1768, devastating fires destroyed almost half of all buildings. Another big fire on June 6, 1803 destroyed, among other things, the prison, the church and the outbuildings of the Jesuits . The city acquired the vacated land and set up a market square on it, which in 1845 was named Place Jacques-Cartier . A fire on April 25, 1849 had political causes: when the parliament of the province of Canada decided to compensate all victims of the rebellions of 1837 , including the rebels at the time, for their losses, protests from the Anglophone conservatives broke out. After two days of street fighting, an angry crowd set the Marché Sainte-Anne, the provisional parliament building, on fire, which was completely destroyed.

British influence on architecture increased steadily over the course of the 19th century, due to Anglophone dominance in the economy. Most of the major financial institutions and insurance companies were headquartered on Rue Saint-Jacques. The preferred architectural style was neoclassicism , while the neo-Gothic style was predominantly used for public buildings . Significant buildings from this period are the old Palace of Justice , the Old Customs House , the Marché Bonsecours and the Notre-Dame de Montréal basilica . The town hall ( Hôtel de Ville ) was the only new building of importance in the second half of the 19th century whose architectural style was influenced by French.

At the beginning of the 20th century the economic importance of the old town continued to increase. Outstanding commercial buildings emerged mainly in the peripheral area, such as the first stock exchange , the Tour de la Banque Royale or the Édifice Aldred . A turning point brought the 1929 Great Depression . The relocation of the port facilities further downstream meant that many trading companies moved away from the old town and left numerous office and warehouse buildings unused. This neglect effect intensified in the post-war period, when the financial sector also gradually withdrew from the old town and settled further west in the newly emerging skyscrapers.

Various city planners increasingly viewed the desolate and barely populated old town as an anomaly. Guided by the ideal of a car-friendly city , they strove to widen the streets, which would have resulted in the demolition of many historic buildings. When an elevated city motorway was planned along the river bank, resistance arose among the population. Led by the Dutch city planner Sandy van Ginkel , the authorities were convinced to move the planned city motorway underground. In 1964 the old town was placed under protection as an arrondissement historique (historic district). This measure resulted in numerous restorations, abandoned buildings were revived with offices and apartments. In addition, Vieux-Montréal has developed into a popular tourist destination.

Attractions

Map of Vieux-Montréal with the main attractions
Notre-Dame de Montréal basilica

In the north-west:

Downtown:

Towards the northeast:

In the very northeast:

In the East:

In the south:

traffic

Several bus lines run by the Société de transport de Montréal run through Vieux- Montréal . On the western edge are the subway stations Champ-de-Mars , Place-d'Armes and Square-Victoria-OACI . From there, the Montreal underground city below the city center can also be reached. In the summer months, ferries run from the Old Harbor over the St. Lawrence River to Longueuil , and there is also a network of cycle paths . Cobblestone streets and carriages running on them further emphasize the historic flair of the old town.

education

On the northern edge of the district is the Cégep du Vieux-Montréal, 255 Ontario Street East, exactly in the middle between the Berri-UQAM (Metro Montreal) and Sherbrooke (Metro Montreal) stations , with 6000 new students annually and the same Number in stock. In addition to the usual Cégep courses, which are similar to those at a previous German university of applied sciences , the university emphasizes the promotion of future French-speaking authors and other artists among its students.

literature

  • Gilles Lauzon, Madeleine Forget: L'Histoire du Vieux-Montréal à travers son patrimoine . Les publications du Québec, Montreal 2004, ISBN 2-551-19654-X .
  • Guy Pinard: Montréal, son histoire, son architecture . Éditions La Presse, Montreal, ISBN 2-89415-039-3 (1987-1995, 6 volumes).
  • Marc H. Choko: Les grandes places publiques de Montréal . Éditions Méridien, Montreal 1990, ISBN 2-89415-020-2 .

Web links

Commons : Vieux-Montréal  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Samuel de Champlain . In: Dictionary of Canadian Biography . 24 volumes, 1966–2018. University of Toronto Press, Toronto ( English , French ). ; Retrieved October 10, 2011.
  2. ^ François Dollier de Casson . In: Dictionary of Canadian Biography . 24 volumes, 1966–2018. University of Toronto Press, Toronto ( English , French ). ; Retrieved October 14, 2011.
  3. ↑ Pierre grise de Montréal et moellons de calcaire. In: Vieux-Montréal. City of Montreal and Province of Québec, accessed October 15, 2011 (French).
  4. ^ Stabilization et mise en valeur des vestiges archéologiques du Champ-de-Mars. (PDF; 8.60 MB) In: Vieux-Montréal. City of Montreal and Province of Québec, accessed October 15, 2011 (French).
  5. ↑ Montréal riots ( English, French ) In: The Canadian Encyclopedia . Retrieved March 14, 2015.
  6. ^ Sandy van Ginkel rescued Old Montreal from freeway developers. The Globe and Mail , July 23, 2009, accessed October 15, 2011 .
  7. ↑ University website