Bluenose Spirit
Lunenburg is a treasure-trove of maritime history and ancient architecture. And it has changed little in the past 200 years.

The waterfront always held the key to Lunenburg's history and prosperity. The deep waters of the natural harbour attracted the British back in 1753 when they built Lunenburg as a "model town" for new immigrants.

A symmetrical grid of streets rose gently up the side of a hill above the harbour. Ironically the Protestant German, Swiss and French settlers were all farmers. First they built their Georgian-style townhouses before turning those same carpentry skills to building ships. The farmers were soon drawn to the sea and became legendary mariners.

Today 400 historic buildings in Lunenburg's Old Town make up a UNESCO World Heritage site. Nearly two-thirds of them pre-date the 19th Century. Lunenburg is one of the last sea ports on the Atlantic coast of North America where traditional masted sailing ships can still be built.
The shipbuilders are direct descendants of the craftsmen who first built hundreds of sleek schooners to sail the rich fishing grounds of the Grand Banks. Lunenburg was home to a deep sea fleet of almost 150 vessels by the end of the last century.

In 1921 the shipbuilders savoured their finest hour when they launched the Bluenose, the fastest schooner on the high seas for over two decades. Her sleek lines under full sail appeared on everything from postage stamps to the Canadian dime coin. The Bluenose went down to a watery grave on a reef off Haiti in 1946 but 17 years later the same shipyards of Lunenburg built an exact replica in the Bluenose II.

Dwindling fish stocks no longer allow Lunenburg to "live by the fish hook". But the rare craftsmanship of the shipbuilders set against a truly historic backdrop nets Lunenburg a bigger catch these days - 250,000 tourists a year.