RECOMMEND
 ADD COMMENT  READ COMMENTS (0)  PRINT  EMAIL  SHARE  THE CANADIAN ENCYCLOPEDIA
0 people recommend this
Charlesbourg, Qué, Ville, pop 70 310 (2001c), 70 942 (1996c), 70 792 (1991cA), area 66.28 km2, inc 1976, following the merger of the cities of Orsainville and Notre-Dame-des-Laurentides, the town of Charlesbourg (1949) and the municipality of Charlesbourg-Est (1928). Charlesbourg is located northeast of QUÉBEC CITY and west of the city of BEAUPORT. This residential suburb of Québec City is the fourth-largest urban centre of the Québec Urban Community. Like Beauport, it has increased by more than 20 000 people over the last 25 years, as a result of the growth in the number of Québec civil servants.


Keywords
Quebec

The first settlement of Charlesbourg dates back to the 1660s when the Jesuits organized the nucleus of a colony in a place known as the Trait-Carré, meaning "perpendicular." The name Charlesbourg originates from this time from a chapel built at Bourg-Royal, in honour of St Charles Borromée. The village site at the Trait-Carré had a rather characteristic triangular parcelling-out of the land radiating outwards from a central square, in the centre of which the church was located. The land allotted to every tenant would fan out from that point in an isosceles triangular shape away from the town square. In this way, the farmhouses would all be situated close to the town centre, making it easy for everyone to help out and to participate in community-oriented tasks and festivities while being in a position to defend the village against attacks.

This geographical and architectural trademark of Old Charlesbourg, recognized as an provincial historic site (1965), is well worth a visit by enthusiasts of cultural geography and architectural heritage. There are only two examples of this kind of settlement layout in all of Canada: Charlesbourg and neighbouring Beauport. Charlesbourg is rich in architectural landmarks: the church, built between 1827-33; the Jesuits' grist mill and 15 other houses dating back to the pre-1830 period; and about 40 other buildings typical of the second half of the 19th century.


Charlesbourg

Author PIERRE-LOUIS LAPOINTE

Feature Articles
David Thompson: The Greatest Geographer the World has Known
David Thompson was an outsider, struggling to find a foothold in the empire that had consumed his country...
MOST READ ARTICLES
Trudeau, Pierre Elliott
Pierre Elliott Trudeau, politician, writer, constitutional lawyer, prime minister of Canada 1968-79 and 1980-84 (b at ...
Great Depression
Few countries were affected as severely as Canada by the worldwide Depression of the 1930s. It is estimated that ...
Riel, Louis
Louis Riel, Métis leader, founder of Manitoba, central figure in the NORTH-WEST REBELLION (b at Red River ...
MOST RECOMMENDED ARTICLES
Great Depression
Few countries were affected as severely as Canada by the worldwide Depression of the 1930s. It is estimated that ...
Evangelical Christian Church in Canada (Disciples of Christ)
Evangelical Christian Church, often called the Christian Church (Christian Disciples), is a denomination stemming from ...
Group of Seven
The Group of Seven was founded in 1920 as an organization of self-proclaimed modern artists. The original members - ...
MOST COMMENTED ON ARTICLES
Sears Canada Inc
Sears Canada Inc, headquartered in Toronto, is a Canadian retailer incorporated in 1952. In 1953 operating under the ...
Ware, John
John Ware, "Nigger John," horseman, rancher (b near Georgetown, SC 1845; d near Brooks, Alta 11 Sept 1905). ...
Land Claims
Land claims are dealt with by a process established by the federal government to enable INDIANS, INUIT and ...
newsletter subscription
* E-mail:
join us on facebook twitter
WIRE BLOG
Survival Kit
by ANNE SEIGNOT
WIRE BLOG
Love Stories
by JENNIFER GIVOGUE
ARTICLE
Pierre Trudeau: Politics and Personality
by WILLIAM CHRISTIAN
ARTICLE
How to Reverse the Decline of Parliament
by NELSON WISEMAN
WIRE BLOG
Prorogation Protest
by WILLIAM CHRISTIAN
INSIDE TCE
Gallery
Browse the rich visual resources of The Canadian Encyclopedia through thematic galleries of Canadian Art, History, Nature, People, and Science and Technology.
Interactive Resources
Illustrations, lively text, animations, sounds and games help make learning about Canadian history, art, geography, architecture and other topics entertaining as well as informative.
Canucklehead
The ultimate test of your knowledge of Canada, trivial and otherwise. You can choose from more than 60 dynamic quizzes with visual or text clues. Your scores depend on the speed with which you answer and the number of clues you need. Results are sent to you by email and high scores are posted on the site.
Timeline
This unique resource includes more than 6000 events from Canadian and world history. It can be searched by era, subject, keyword or date. To find out what happened on your birthday, select the month and day of your birth.
100 Greatest Events
This selection of the 100 "greatest" events in Canadian history was made by editor in chief James H. Marsh to draw attention to events that have left an indelible memory in the minds of later generations.
THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MUSIC IN CANADA
The Paupers
The Paupers. Toronto rock band. It was formed in 1965 as the Spats by the drummer Ronn (Skip) Prokop, the guitarists Bill Misener and Chuck Beal, and the bass guitarist Denny Gerrard. In 1966, with the singer-songwriter and ...


Who's Who at TCE    |    Our Partners The Canadian Encyclopedia © 2010 Historica-Dominion Copyright Information