To begin, we've extended our stay in Montreal. There is so much to see and do. We arrived on June 24th after the long run from Cornwall. On the 25th, we took things slowly. We started in the Old Port (Vieux-Port) section, right next to where Brio lies at her dock space. From here, we spent hours walking, happily so for we need the exercise!
We're staying at Port d'Escale Marina. Walking up the ramp from the water level, we quickly enter city life. There are vendors everywhere, but the city really doesn't wake up until lunch time.
We wanted to go the the archeology museum first, just to get our "feet on the ground", so to speak. But it didn't open until 10 a.m. So we walked uphill to Place d'Armes. In the plaza is a statue to Paul de Chomedey, the founder of Montreal.
At the base are smaller sculptures of important players in Montreal's early days.
LeMoyne
and Closse.
Many old buildings surround the neighborhood. The stand-out, though, is Notre-Dame Bascilica de Montreal, built from 1824 to 1829. The interior is stupendous.
Looking towards the front:
And in detail:
Imagine the music from those pipes!
The Basilica was designed and built, inspired by Notre Dame in Paris.
As with all good cathedrals, there is constant repair to be done. Our crane friends from Brio's time in Rimouski were on site, removing building stone for restoration.
We then wandered down the hill from #89 and 90 to #96 towards the River to see the archeology museum. (We started at # 98.)
The archeology museum features many aspects of Montreal underground. As soon as you enter the museum, you go underground. The initial displays cover the time from when the Indigenous Peoples inhabited the area. Jacques Cartier first landed on the waterfront in the mid-1500s. The distribution of tribes is shown below from about that time.
One hundred years later, Champlain explored the region and found that the tribe which was living in long houses in 1550 were gone, perhaps attacked by the belligerent Iroquois tribe.
In time, the French settlers built their defenses, erecting a fort at the same site. The structure pre-dated Fort Stanwix by 100 years, but the concepts were the same.
and, to the east of the fort and of the stream shown in the diorama,
The many museum displays show the growth of Montreal from this mid-1600s until today. The stream becomes an open, then a covered sewer for the village, then town, then city. This is featured at a sub-basement level as a several-block long feature running through the museum. It becomes a point of orientation for viewing the displays of foundations, archeological digs and history shown throughout the several blocks of the museum.
In the mid-1600s, there was plenty of strife between the several tribes and the settlers, as indicated in this display.
The peace treaty brought a semblance of peace that was broken several times until the final Great Peace of Montreal in 1701.
The French and Indian War from 1755 to 1763 (the Seven-Years War) brought new strife to the area. It ended with the Treaty of Ghent (1763) with the British conquering all of New France.
The American Revolution (1775 to 1783) and the War of 1812 meant continued strife between the United States and England over the lands that now make up Nova Scotia, Quebec, New Brunswick and Ontario.
During all of this time, Montreal continued to grow and flourish. But it wasn't until Canadian independence, celebrated on July 1st, that Canada gained independence from the UK in 1867.
This is really just a sketch of all that has transpired. But Brio says, "It's enough!"
Cheers,
Brio
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