Halifax Attractions

The 5 3 21/2 km (3 3 11/2 mi.) inner harbor, known as the Bedford Basin, is very deep and sheltered by the peninsula on which the city is built. Despite the skyscrapers of more recent times, the peninsula is still dominated by a hill topped by a star-shaped citadel. Halifax owes its existence to these two factors - its natural harbor and its citadel.

Halifax was founded in July 1749 when Edward Cornwallis and a number of settlers built a garrison here. The idea of a stronghold on this natural harbor was not new, and the French had considered it after they lost the mainland of Nova Scotia in 1713 before opting for Louisbourg on Cape Breton instead. Louisbourg was the real reason for the building of Halifax, which was intended to act as its strategic counterpoint after the French fortress had been returned to the French following capture by the British in 1744.

Halifax was a thus a garrison from the outset, full of soldiers in the citadel and other military buildings, and of British sailors from the naval vessels always in the harbor. This military presence made its mark on the city - from the balls and assemblies held by the naval and army officers, to the countless brothels round the harbor and below the citadel. Even justice was meted out according to martial law, and it was more than a hundred years before the civilians in Halifax had a say in how their community was run.

Halifax offered a home to two unruly sons of King George III when he more or less banished them from England. The future King William IV celebrated his 21st birthday with a wild party in the port, and passed many a night in the arms of Frances Wentworth, later to become the wife of the Governor.

His brother, Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent and future father of Queen Victoria, lived for six years in Halifax as Commander of the Nova Scotia forces. During that time he spent a fortune on fortifying the city, and made Halifax part of the famous British defensive square - Britain, Gibraltar, Bermuda and now Halifax. He was a strict disciplinarian, and would have his men whipped or even hanged for minor offences. But he also created the first telegraph system in North America, making it possible for him to issue orders to his men from Annapolis Royal (on the other side of the peninsula) or from his love-nest on the Bedford Basin, where his mistress, the beautiful Julie St Laurent, lived.

The history of Halifax was not always so colorful. However, periods of prosperity often coincided with times of war, while peacetime often brought economic depression. The Napoleonic Wars, the American Civil War and, finally, the First and Second World Wars were times of major military activity in Halifax, and of burgeoning wealth as well as great tragedy. During both World Wars Halifax was a collection point for convoys which were supposed to enable shipping to cross the Atlantic in greater safety, and protect themselves against attack from German U-boats. In 1917 the French munitions ship "Mont-Blanc", which had arrived to join one such convoy, collided with the Belgian "Imo", causing the world's worst explosion prior to the dropping of the atom bomb on Hiroshima in 1945. The whole of the northern end of Halifax was razed to the ground, and port and rail installations were destroyed. The casualties included 1400 people killed outright, several hundred more who died later, about 9000 injured and 200 blinded. Windows were shattered as far away as Truro, some 100 km (62 mi.) distant. The explosion was heard within a radius of 160 km (100 mi.). All that was left of the "Mont-Blanc" was a cannon in Albro Lake behind Dartmouth and a fragment of the anchor, which landed in the forest over 3 km (2 mi.) away (the ship's crew survived, however, having left the ship in good time). There are still people in Halifax today drawing pensions for the injuries they sustained at the time.

Halifax is not just the capital of Nova Scotia, it is also the commercial hub of Canada's Maritime provinces, as well as being an important center for research with no fewer than six universities and colleges. It continues to have a strong military presence, although the soldiers are no longer in the citadel. Halifax is the Atlantic base of the Canadian navy, with large dockyards and a research center (the latter in Dartmouth, Halifax's twin town on the other side of the bay, connected to it by two bridges).

Important dates in Halifax's annual calendar of events are July 24th, or Natal Day, when Halifax celebrates its birthday, mid-August, when the Nova Scotia Festival of the Arts takes place, and the end of September, date of the Joseph Howe Festival.