Old Town Lunenburg Canada

Old Town Lunenburg is the best surviving example of a planned British colonial settlement in North America. Established in 1753, it has retained its original layout and overall appearance, based on a rectangular grid pattern drawn up in the home country. The inhabitants have safeguarded the town's identity throughout the centuries by preserving the wooden architecture of the houses and public buildings, some of which date from the 18th century and which constitute an excellent example of a sustained vernacular architectural tradition. Its economic basis has traditionally been the offshore Atlantic fishery, the future of which is highly questionable at the present time.

The architectural stock of Lunenburg's Old Town

The architectural stock of Lunenburg's Old Town is remarkably homogeneous and cohesive. Over 95% of the buildings are built from wood, many of them using the coulisse construction technique that is uncommon in North America. The founding period in the 18th century is represented by at least eight buildings of coulisse construction (wooden frames in-filled with horizontal planks). They were built close to one another and to the streets, with the wider elevation facing the harbour. Two-thirds of the buildings of Lunenburg date from the 19th century. The earlier examples continue the 18th-century tradition.

The pattern of construction of the residential buildings is repeated in the commercial and waterfront buildings, where wood predominates. The same applies to the churches: the second oldest protestant church building in Canada, St John's Anglican Church, begun in 1754, is considered by experts to be an example of 'Carpenter Gothic' at its finest.

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UNESCO Criterion

(iv) Old Town Lunenburg is a well preserved example of 18th century British colonial urban planning, which has undergone no significant changes since its foundation and which largely continues to fulfil the economic and social purposes for which it was designed. Of special importance is its diversified and well-preserved vernacular architectural tradition, which spans over 250 years.

(v) It is an excellent example of an urban community and culture designed for and based on the offshore Atlantic fishery which is undergoing irreversible change and is evolving in a form that cannot yet be fully defined. Source

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