Back Festung Louisbourg German Fortaleza de Luisburgo Spanish Forteresse de Louisbourg French Dùn nam Frangach Scots/Gaelic מצודת לואיסבורג HE Louisbourg IO Fortezza di Louisbourg Italian ルイブール要塞 Japanese ლუისბურგის ციხესიმაგრე Georgian 루이스버그 요새 Korean
| Fortress of Louisbourg | |
|---|---|
| Native name French: Forteresse de Louisbourg | |
 Diorama of the Fortress of Louisbourg in 1758 | |
| Location | 259 Park Service Rd, Louisbourg, Nova Scotia, Canada B1C 2L2 |
| Coordinates | 45°53′33″N 59°59′06″W / 45.89250°N 59.98500°W |
| Built | 1713–1740 |
  Location of Fortress of Louisbourg in Nova Scotia | |
| Official name | Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site |
| Designated | 30 January 1920 |
The Fortress of Louisbourg (French: Forteresse de Louisbourg) is a tourist attraction as a National Historic Site and the location of a one-quarter partial reconstruction of an 18th-century French fortress at Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. Its two sieges, especially that of 1758, were turning points in the Anglo-French struggle for what today is Canada.[1]
The original settlement was founded in 1713 by settlers from Terre-Neuve, and initially called Havre à l'Anglois. Subsequently, the fishing port grew to become a major commercial port and a strongly defended fortress. The fortifications eventually surrounded the town. The walls were constructed mainly between 1720 and 1740. By the mid-1740s Louisbourg, named for Louis XIV of France, was one of the most extensive (and expensive) European fortifications constructed in North America.[2]
The site was supported by two smaller garrisons on Île Royale located at present-day St. Peter's and Englishtown. The Fortress of Louisbourg suffered key weaknesses, since it was erected on low-lying ground commanded by nearby hills and its design was directed mainly toward sea-based assaults, leaving the land-facing defences relatively weak. A third weakness was that it was a long way from France or Quebec, from which reinforcements might be sent. It was captured by British colonists in 1745, and was a major bargaining chip in the negotiations leading to the 1748 treaty ending the War of the Austrian Succession. It was returned to the French in exchange for border towns in what is today Belgium. It was captured again in 1758 by British forces in the Seven Years' War, after which its fortifications were systematically destroyed by British engineers.[2] The British continued to have a garrison at Louisbourg until 1768 but had abandoned the site by 1785.[3]
The fortress and town were partially reconstructed, in a project that started in 1961 and continued into the 1970s.[3] The head stonemason for this project was Ron Bovaird. This reconstruction work provided jobs for unemployed coal miners, but relied on expropriating an entire community known as West Louisbourg.[4] Additional restoration was completed in 2018–2020 and again in 2022–2023 after Hurricane Fiona.[5] The earlier of the two projects was intended to protect the site from rising water and to restore parts of the fortress.[6]
The Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic site is operated by Parks Canada as a living history museum. The site stands as the largest reconstruction project in North America.[7]
- ^ Johnston, A. J. B. (2013). Louisbourg: Past, Present, Future. Halifax, Nova Scotia: Nimbus. ISBN 978-1-771080-52-1.
- ^ a b Harris, Carolyn (Aug 2017). "The Queen's land". Canada's History. 97 (4): 34–43. ISSN 1920-9894.
- ^ a b "Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site of Canada". Parks Canada. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
- ^ ""Living Next to Living History": When Official History Meets Vernacular Commemoration in Louisbourg, Nova Scotia" (PDF). Concordia University. 1 December 2012. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
- ^ "Fortress of Louisbourg braces for future with modern defences". CBC News. 4 December 2022. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
- ^ "Fortress of Louisbourg braces for future with modern defences". CBC News. 16 July 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
- ^ National Geographic Guide to the National Parks of Canada, 2nd Edition. National Geographic Society. 2016. p. 49. ISBN 978-1-4262-1756-2.