Cartier-Brébeuf National Historic Site

Cartier-Brébeuf National Historic Site is a National Historic Site of Canada and so designated by the Historic Sites and Monuments board of Canada in 1958 under the recommendation of John Diefenbaker, the Prime Minister of Canada at the time. It is administered by Parks Canada and located at the confluence of Saint-Charles and Lairet rivers, in Quebec City more precisely in La Cité-Limoilou borough. On the site you can find an interpretation centre and a 6,8 hectares inner-city park characterised by an uneven landscape and divided into two sectors “East” and “West” separated by the Lairet river. Several commemorative monuments and elements are also present.The site commemorates the second voyage of Jacques Cartier; more precisely in 1535-1536 when he and his shipmates wintered near the Iroquoian village of Stadacona (Quebec City). It also recalls the establishment of the first residence of the Jesuit missionaries in Quebec, in 1625-1626.Moreover, by the end of the 17th century up to the opening of the national historic site in 1972, it hosted numerous hand-crafted and industrial activities such as a tannery, a pottery, a brickyard, a shipyard, a sawmill, a junkyard and a snow-dumping lot.Today, the site offers a museum exhibition, animations for elementary and high school groups, thematic events, and a natural habitat in an inner-city park. A cycleway and the linear park of Saint-Charles river also cross the park’s ground.thumb