Lunenburg, Nova Scotia (town)
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Lunenburg is a small town on the South Shore of Nova Scotia, Canada at 44.37° North 64.32° West approximately 90 kilometres southwest of the provincial capital Halifax on the Atlantic coast. Its population in 1991 was 2781 and in recent years has been found to fluctuate significantly on and off the summer tourist season. The town of Lunenburg is not to be confused with the Municipal District of Lunenburg.
Lunenburg was founded in 1753, and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995. This designation ensures protection for much of Lunenburg's unique architecture and civic design.
Lunenburg was named in honour of the Duke of Braunschweig-Lüneburg who had become King of England in 1727 (George II).
At one time an important seaport and shipbuilding centre, the town is now home to numerous small businesses, progressive high-tech industries and trade plants including what was formerly the largest fish plant in Canada, Highliner Foods. This plant now handles little more than manufacturing and most fishing is done offshore.
Lunenburg is the birthplace of the world famous schooner Bluenose and her daughter Bluenose II which remains an important tourist attraction in the town, her home port. Tourism is now Lunenburg's most important industry and many thousands visit the town each year. A number of restaurants, inns, hotels and shops exist to service the tourist trade including the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic.
The original inhabitants of Lunenberg; (mostly Germans from the southern Rhineland, Swiss and French protestants from Montbeliard) came during the same wave of immigration that produced the Pennsylvania Dutch. They were "Foreign Protestants" encouraged by the British to settle in the area. Many of the original families and descendants still inhabit and influence the development of the town today.
Lunenburg County is named after the town.
External links
Town of Lunenburg (http://town.lunenburg.ns.ca)
Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic (http://museum.gov.ns.ca/fma/home.htm)