Montreal – The city of Spires. English Course in Montreal
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Montreal is a metropoly in the province of Québec in South Eastern Canada. With its 1.650.000 inhabitants, it is the second biggest city in the country. The biggest part of the city is located on the “Île de Montréal” (Island of Montreal) and surrounded by the St. Lawrence River and the Ottawa River. The image of the city is characterised by the Mont Royal, a vulcanic hill range in the center of the island, which gave the city its name. From the beginning of the city onwards, lots of different catholic congregations settled down in Montreal and furnished the city with lots and lots of churches. This is why, by the time Mark Twain toured Canada’s first metropolis in the 1880s, he found that “one could not throw a brick in the place without breaking a church window”.
History
As mentionned above, the name of the city derives from the hill range called Mont Royal
(Royal Mountain) . This is due to the French seaman Jacques Cartier who first explored the area 1535 and who wanted to honour his King Francois I by calling the mountain after him. At that time, the island was inhabited by an Indian tribe – the Saint Lorenz Iroquois.
In 1611, a French man called Samuel de Champlain set up a trading post for fur. Shortly after, about 40 French colonists founded a catholic missionary station called Fort Ville-Marie in order to convert the Indians of the area. This was how the new colony was born.
In the first years, the colony was often attacked by the Indian tribes who tried to get in power of the fur trade channels. But by the end of the 18th century, the Indians had been decimated by diseases and wars and were no more a danger.
In the 18th century, another folk threatened Montreal: The Brithish had gained more and more importance in Northern America. In 1760, the French garnison in Montreal lost against the British and Montreal was from then on ruled by the British Empire.
Montreal continued being the centre of the fur trade. Only in the beginning of the 19th century, when more and more Irish and English men immigrated to Canada, the economy got more and more diversified. From the 1830s onwards, most of the inhabitants of Montreal were English speaking.
In 1832, Montreal received the town privileges. Since then, the city grew quickly and became the economical and cultural center and in 1844 even the capital of Canada. Around 1860, Montreal was the biggest city in British Northern-America and the decades between 1860 and 1930 are often referred to as the “Golden Age”. In that time, the population of Montreal grew from 90.000 to 820.000 due to the industrialisation.
Since that time, the population was mainly French-speaking, because the industry needed lots of workers and many people moved from the countryside of the province of Québec to the big city. The population was divided in two parts: The rich, protestant English speaking and the modest, catholic French speaking.
Montreal was hit hard by the world economic crisis in 1929. The economic situation got better during the Second World War. But in the last quarter of the 20th century, Montreal lost its importance to Toronto. One reason for that was the growing self-esteem of the French population. Terroristic groups were formed who comitted some severe attacks. In 1976, the government of Montreal was French for the first time and gave the French language a big importance in the everyday life. Lots of British firms therefore went to Toronto in order to be able to keep on running their businesses in English. After the migration from the industry sector, the service sector became more and more important and in the 90th, Montreal enjoyed a big economic upturn. Important moments: World Exhibition 1967 and Olympic Summer games 1976.
Districts
Montreal is divided in 19 districts:
Ahuntsic-Cartierville, Anjou, Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Lachine, LaSalle, Le Plateau-Mont-Royal, Le Sud-Ouest, L’Île-Bizard–Sainte-Geneviève, Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, Montréal-Nord, Outremont, Pierrefonds-Roxboro, Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles, Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie, Saint-Laurent, Saint-Léonard, Verdun, Ville-Marie, Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension
Means of transport
In Montreal you will easily get from one place to the other. First of all, it is a great city for walking friends.
Furthermore, you find a vast net of busses, a rapid-transit railway system and 4-subway-lines (Metro Montreal). For the exact schedule and prices, visit: www.stm.info
And if you want to visit other Canadian cities, there are great train connections, for example every day transfers from “Gare Centrale” (Central train station) to Québec, Ottawa and Toronto.
www.viarail.ca
Montreal offers three airports. Two of them are for the transport of passengers: Aéroport Montréal-Trudeau and Aéroport Flughafen Saint-Hubert.
www.admtl.com
www.dashl.ca
Climate
The city of Montreal enjoys a boreal climate, which means short, hot and humid summers and cold, snowy, windy winters with a long period of temperatures of below 20 °C. July is the warmest month, January the coldest. Spring and autumn are mild. Montreal is known for its Indian Summer, which means warm and sunny autumn days with frosty nights.
Must-Dos
Montreal offers amazing activities in all four seasons of the year. Some of the most famous attractions in Montreal are:
Architecture: Montreal combines modernity and tradition, which is reflected in its architecture. From modern skyscrapers to the European facades of the old town.
Old Montreal: The historical district has maintained and restored its old architecture and cobblestone streets. The best way to enjoy this neighbourhood is a horse drawn carriage, visiting the most romantic spots in the city.
Crescent Street: This street is one of the most attractive tourist attractions of the city, full with bars, restaurants, cafes and galleries. It is the setting for various urban events like Formula 1.
The St. Lawrence River and the Old Port: The river is the second longest in Canada. You can take a trip on a boat or you just walk straight through it!
Niagara Falls and Toronto: During a weekend you can visit one of the most spectacular places in the world. The Toronto tour includes history, culture and nature. The Niagara Falls are a wonder of nature and you are able to contemplate them from close.
Other famous attractions: Outdoor Zoo Quebec, The Biosphere Enviromental Museum, Montreal by bike, Whale-watching, Climbing the Mont Real
Conclusion
Montreal is a city of contrasts. It is a melting-pot for people from many different nationalities. It is full of culture and nightlife but at the same time it offers a lot of nature being surrounded by water and providing a lot of green parks, One thing is for sure: You will not get bored.
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