Quebec City
| Quebec City, Quebec Ville de Québec, Québec |
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| Motto: Don de Dieu feray valoir (I shall put God's gift to good use) |
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| Site in the province of Quebec | |
| Coordinates: 46°48′N 71°23′W | |
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| Country | Canada |
| Province | Quebec |
| Agglomeration | Quebec City |
| Founded | 1608 by Samuel de Champlain |
| Constitution date | 1833 |
| Area | |
| - City | 542.71 km km² (Expression error: Unrecognized word "km". sq mi) |
| Population (2006, 2001*, 2005**) | |
| - City | 491,142 (Ranked 10th) |
| - Metro | 717,600* |
| - Quebec City Area | 1,064,047** |
| Time zone | Eastern (UTC-5) |
| Area code(s) | 418 |
| Geographical code | 24 23027 |
| Website: Official website of Quebec City | |
Quebec City or Québec (French: Ville de Québec, or simply Québec)[1] is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and one of the oldest cities in North America. The city has a population of 528,595, and the metropolitan area has a population of 717,600 (2005).
Quebec City is known for its Winter Carnival and the Château Frontenac, a historic hotel that dominates the city skyline. It is the second largest city in the province, after Montreal. Quebec's Old Town (Vieux-Québec), the only North American fortified city north of Mexico whose walls still exist, and was declared a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1985.
History
Quebec City is one of the oldest settlements in North America.
The French explorer Jacques Cartier (1491-1557) built a fort at the site in 1535, where he stayed for the winter before going back to France in spring 1536. He came back in 1541 with the goal of building a permanent settlement. This first settlement was abandoned less than one year later, in the summer 1542, due in large part to the hostility of the natives combined with the harsh living conditions during winter.
Quebec was formally founded by Samuel de Champlain (1567-1635) on 3 July 1608 at the site of a long abandoned St. Lawrence Iroquoian settlement called Stadacona.
Quebec City was captured by the British in 1759 and held until 1763. Quebec was the site of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham during the Seven Years' War, in which British troops under General James Wolfe defeated the French general Louis-Joseph de Montcalm and took the city. France later ceded New France to Britain.
At the end of French rule in 1763, the territory of present-day Quebec City was a world of contrasts. Forests, villages, fields and pastures surrounded the town of 8 000 inhabitants. The town distinguished itself by its monumental architecture, fortifications, muddy and filthy streets, affluent homes of masonry and shacks in the suburbs St-Jean and St-Roch. Despite its urbanity and its status as capital, Quebec City remained a small colonial city with close ties to its rural surroundings. Nearby inhabitants traded their farm surpluses and firewood for imported goods from France at the two city markets.
During the American Revolution, revolutionary troops from the southern colonies assaulted the British garrison in a futile attempt to liberate Quebec City now known as the Battle of Quebec. The defeat of the revolutionaries from the south put an end to the hopes that the peoples of Quebec would rise and join the Revolution. Major General Isaac Brock fortified Quebec City by strengthening the walls and building an elevated artillery battery before the War of 1812.
In 1840, after the Province of Canada was formed, the capital was shared between Kingston, Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa and Quebec City (from 1852 to 1856 and from 1859 to 1866). In 1867, Ottawa (which was chosen to be the permanent capital of the Province of Canada) was chosen to be the capital of the Dominion of Canada.
Throughout its nearly four hundred years of existence, Quebec City has served as a capital:
- from 1608 to 1627 and 1632 to 1763, it was capital of French Canada and all of New France,
- from 1763 to 1791, it was the capital of the Province of Quebec,
- from 1791 to 1841, it was the capital of the Province of Lower Canada,
- from 1852 to 1856 and from 1859 to 1866, it was capital of the Province of Canada,
- from 1867 to today, it has been capital of the Province of Quebec.
In World War II, two conferences were held in Quebec City. The first one was held in 1943 with Franklin Delano Roosevelt (the United States' president), Winston Churchill (the United Kingdom's prime minister), William Lyon Mackenzie King (Canada's prime minister) and T.V. Soong (China's minister of foreign affairs). The second one was held in 1944, and was attended by Churchill and Roosevelt. They took place in the buildings of the Citadelle and of nearby Château Frontenac. A large part of the D-Day Landings plans were made during those meetings.
Municipal public administration
Demographics
| 1931 | 1941 | 1951 | 1961 | 1971 | 1981 | 1991 | 2001 | 2006 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 131 000 | 151 000 | 289 000 | 379 000 | 481 000 | 576 000 | 646 000 | 683 000 | 720 000 |
According to the 2001 census, there were 682,757 people residing in Quebec City, of whom 48.2% were male and 51.8% were female. Children under five accounted for approximately 4.7% of the resident population of Quebec City. This compares with 5.2% in the province of Quebec, and 5.6% for Canada overall.
While Montreal is considered by many to be a bilingual city, with many of its residents having a working knowledge of both French and English, Quebec City and its surrounding region is largely Francophone. The large majority of city residents are native French-speakers.
In mid-2001, 13.0% of the resident population in Quebec City was of retirement age (65 and over for males and females) compared with 13.2% in Canada. The average age is 39.5 years of age compared to 37.6 years of age for Canada as a whole.
In the five years between 1996 and 2001, the population of Quebec City grew by 1.6%, compared with an increase of 1.4% for the province of Quebec as a whole. Population density of Quebec City averaged 216.4 people per square kilometre, compared with an average of 5.3, for the province of Quebec as a whole.
According to the 2001 census, over 90% of the population was Roman Catholic, along with small Jewish and Protestant populations.
Transportation
Quebec City is served by Jean Lesage International Airport, located in the West of the city. The city also has a large major port on the St-Lawrence.
Three bridges, the Quebec Bridge and Pierre Laporte Bridge connect the city with the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River, as does a ferry service to Lévis, and Orleans Island Bridge connects Quebec City with the Orleans Island. The city is a major hub in the Quebec provincial road network, fanning out from both sides of the river with an extensive autoroute system.
Several important motorways of the Quebec road network pass by Quebec City, of which Autoroute 40 connects it towards the west to Montreal and Route 175 connects it towards the north to Chicoutimi.
Three principal expressways cross the agglomeration from the north to the south (starting from the west): Autoroute Henri-IV, Autoroute Robert-Bourassa, and Autoroute Laurentienne. Three other motorways cross the western part of town (from north to south): Autoroute Félix Leclerc (known by the inhabitants as "Autoroute de la Capitale"), Autoroute Charest, as well as Champlain Boulevard, which goes along the river to the Downtown area, then another Autoroute called Dufferin-Montmorency allows easier access to the extreme east of the city.
The city is served by VIA Rail (Gare du Palais), and is the eastern terminus of the railway's main Quebec City-Windsor Corridor. The bus station, with connections to the provincial long-distance bus network, is also in the same location.
The Réseau de transport de la Capitale is responsible for public transportation by bus.
An overdependence on autos leaves little room for cyclists on the roads. They are generally forced into autos as in most American cities, detracting from the European character of the city.
Attractions
Many of the city's attractions are east of the fortification walls in Vieux-Québec (Old Quebec). This area has a distinct European feel unique in North America with its stone buildings and winding streets lined with shops and restaurants. Porte St-Louis (St. Louis Gate) and Porte St-Jean (St. Jean Gate) are the main gates through the walls from the modern section of downtown. West of the walls are the Colline-Parlementaire (Parliament Hill) district and the Plaines d'Abraham (Plains of Abraham).
Quebec City's skyline is dominated by the massive Château Frontenac Hotel, perched on top of Cap-Diamant. The hotel is beside the Terrasse Dufferin (Dufferin Terrace), a walkway along the edge of the cliff, offering beautiful views of the Saint Lawrence River.
Near the Château Frontenac is Notre-Dame de Québec Cathedral, mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Quebec. It is the first church in the New World to be raised to a basilica and is the primatial church of Canada.
The Terrasse Dufferin leads toward the nearby Plains of Abraham, site of the battle in which the British took Quebec from France, and the Citadelle of Quebec, a Canadian Forces installation and the federal vice-regal secondary residence. The National Assembly, Quebec's provincial legislature, is also near the Citadelle.
The Haute-Ville (Upper Town) is linked by the Escalier «casse-cou» (literally "neck-breaker" steps) and the Old Quebec Funicular to the Basse-Ville (Lower Town), which includes such sites as the ancient Notre Dame des Victoires church, the historic Petit Champlain district, the port, and the Musée de la Civilisation (Museum of Civilization). Université Laval is located in the western end of the city, in the borough of Sainte-Foy. However, the school of architecture of Université Laval is located in Old Quebec. The central campus of the Université du Québec is also located in Quebec City. Canon balls are placed beside "Château Frontenac."
Quebec City is known for its Winter Carnival and for its Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day celebrations.
Tourist attractions located near Quebec City include Montmorency Falls and the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré.
Museums
- Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec
- Musée de la civilisation
- Musée de l'Amérique française
- Espace Félix Leclerc
- Musée naval de Québec
- Choco-Musée Erico
- Musée des Ursulines de Québec
- Musée du Royal 22e Régiment/La Citadelle de Quebéc
- Musée Québec Expérience
- Musée de l'Abeille
- Plains of Abraham Exhibition Center
- Parc Aquarium du Quebec, reopened in 2002 on a site overlooking the St. Lawrence River, presents more than 10,000 specimens of mammals, reptiles, fish and other aquatic fauna of North America and the Arctic. Polar bears and various species of seals of the Arctic sector and the "Large Ocean," a large basin offering visitors a view from underneath, form part of the principal attractions. Website : http://www.spsnq.qc.ca/
Post-secondary education
Quebec city has a number of centers of higher learning including the famous Université Laval (Univerity of Laval) and several smaller community colleges. The vast majority of these instituions offer their classes in French, which is the dominant language of instruction in the province of Quebec. A list of these post-secondary institutions is found below:
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University level
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College level
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Notes
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Grignon, Marc.Loing Du Soleil: Architectural Practice in Quebec City During the French Regime. Peter Lang Publishing, 1997. ISBN 978-0820425153
- Linteau, Paul-André, René Durocher and Jean-Claude Robert with Robert Chodos (Translator) Quebec: A History 1867-1929. Lorimer, 1983. ISBN 978-0888626042
- Lessard, Michel and Claudel Huot (Photographer) Quebec: City of Light. Les Edition de L'Homme, 2004. ISBN 978-2761916431
- Ruddel, David Thiery. Quebec City, 1765-1832: The Evolution of a Colonial Town. Canadian Museum of Civilization, 1988. ISBN 978-0660107714
External links
- Tourist information of the Quebec city area Retrieved June 25, 2007.
- Official website of Quebec City Retrieved June 25, 2007.
- Official website of Quebec City Tourism Retrieved June 25, 2007.
- Quebec City Guide - Télégraphe de Québec Retrieved June 25, 2007.
- Quebec's Old Town Photo Tour Retrieved June 25, 2007.
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