III.

City Landscape

The Halifax Regional Municipality covers a land area of 5,577 sq km (2,153 sq mi). The CMA covers a land area of 2,503 sq km (966 sq mi). Halifax began as a fortified village located on the eastern shore of a hilly peninsula, which juts into the surrounding harbor. That site, originally selected because it offered shelter against storms and enemy attack, today contains a modern high-rise city, along with many reminders of a lively past. Overlooking the downtown core is the Citadel, a mid-19th century fortification. The Citadel sits on a hill and is topped by towering flagpoles, which were once used to signal the approach of merchant and naval ships.

Just below the Citadel’s ramparts sits Halifax’s most famous landmark, the Old Town Clock, built in 1803. Nearby are a series of historic buildings. These include St. Paul’s, the oldest Protestant church in Canada; St. George’s, the first round church in North America; Government House, the oldest executive residence in North America; and Province House, the longest-serving parliament building in Canada.

Along the waterfront are a series of wooden and stone warehouses and shops put up during Halifax’s 19th-century age of sail, when Halifax merchants owned many wooden sailing ships. Artifacts from this era are found in the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, located on the waterfront. This museum also houses a modern warship, which chased submarines during World War II (1939-1945). A short distance away are other interesting sites, such as the Old Burying Ground, with gravestones from the 1750s; the Public Gardens, laid out in formal Victorian style; and Point Pleasant Park, which contains Canada’s oldest martello tower, a circular fortification whose massive stone walls could defy bombardment.

Leading cultural institutions in metropolitan Halifax include the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, the Nova Scotian Symphony, Neptune Theatre, the Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History, the Public Archives of Nova Scotia, the Dartmouth Heritage Museum, and the Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia.

Major institutions of higher education and research include the University of King’s College (1789), Dalhousie University (1818), Saint Mary’s University (1841), Mount Saint Vincent University (1925), and the Bedford Institute of Oceanography (1962).

Every year the city hosts a series of cultural events. Particularly well known are the Scotia Festival of Music, Shakespeare by the Sea, the Atlantic Jazz Festival, the Halifax International Busker Festival, and the Atlantic Winter Fair.