TourBackpacker: A Wink at ... Quebec City Ramparts and Citadel

Built on an exceptional site above the St-Lawrence River on top of Cap Diamond on one side and surrounding the entire Higher-Town. The ramparts of Quebec City are close to 4.6km and the city is the only one in North America that still as fortified walls in place and preserved. Added to the Unesco World Heritage sites in 1985.

Map of Quebec City in 1664

Actual map of Quebec City (in yellow are the walls and the citadel)

Source : Google maps

After an attack by New-England in 1960, Louis de Buade asked for the construction of temporary ramparts, fearing a siege of the town. In 1693, new ramparts were built to replace the temporary ones. Between 1700 and 1720 the town of Quebec becomes a permanent construction site, where many walls were built and many were incomplete. In 1721, authorities refuse to keep building thinking that the defense of Quebec was less important than other towns, like Montreal.

Military engineer Gaspard-Joseph Chaussegros de Lévy will manage the new constructions that started in 1945, he wanted a complete surrounding wall that will become the ones we still see today.

The many gates from the ramparts were also built, destroyed and rebuilt many times. At the time of the French regime there were three gates, which were the Palace Gate, the St-John's Gate and the St-Louis Gate. While in the English regime there was up to eight gates to be seen. Many have nowadays disappeared, but four are still there for us to see. St-Louis Gate, St-John's Gate, Kent's Gate and Prescott are still in place, there is also a fifth gate that is the Dalhousie Gate that is the main Gate to the Citadel. They were all rebuilt or improved in the 20th century.

Palace Gate (Second half of the 19th century)

Built in 1690, replaced twice in the 18th and 19th century. It was demolished in 1873.

Hope Gate (1871)

Built in 1786 and was demolished in 1871.

Prescott Gate (1860)

Firstly built in 1797, demolished in 1871. A walking bridge with the shape of the other gates is now there and still named Prescott Gate, it was rebuilt in 1983 for the 325th birthday of the city.

Prescott Gate (2010, ©Tourbackpacker.com)

Kent Gate (1898)

Kent Gate was the last of the gates to be built in 1878-79 and is still mostly in it's original state.

Top and tower of Kent's Gate (2010, ©Tourbackpacker.com)

St-Louis Gate (1880)

Built in 1693, it was replaced in 1745 and again at the end of the 19th century.

St-Louis Gate (2010, ©Tourbackpacker.com)

St-John's Gate (1867)

First built in 1693, it was replaced in 1745 and in 1863. The actual Gate was built in 1939-40.

Clic on picture to see the whole Quebec city album

The citadel was built during the English regime between 1820 and 1831 and is completely integrated to the ramparts. A safe place for the English troops to go, in case of the towns siege or populations uproars. Built to resist any assault coming from the inside of the town.