What to See in Lunenburg - Top Sights and Attractions

Museum in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. The Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic is a museum in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada, operating seasonally from mid-May through mid-October. The museum commemorates the fishing heritage of the Atlantic coast of Canada. Housed in brightly painted red buildings, with floating vessels at wharfside, the Museum offers a host of attractions, a maritime gift shop and restaurant.

Retired fishermen and experienced "Heritage Interpreters" accentuate the experience of visiting the museum. Entertaining activities and demonstrations take place daily from mid-May to mid-October.

The Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic is operated by the volunteer Board of Directors of the Lunenburg Marine Museum Society, for the Nova Scotia Museum.^[1]

Theatre in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. The Lunenburg Opera House is a building within the UNESCO World Heritage Site in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada. In 1907, the land needed to build the Opera House was purchased by the Rising Sun Lodge of the International Order of Odd Fellows from C. E. Kaulbach for $3,560 and construction began on the Opera House in the same year. Construction was completed in 1908, and the building opened for its first concert that year. The Opera House operated as a vaudeville concert hall and live theatre until the 1940s, when it was converted to a cinema, the Capitol Theatre.

The Capitol Theatre operated until the 1970s, and in the mid-1970s, the building was purchased by Jack Sheriff, a former English professor at Acadia University and longtime promoter of the arts in Nova Scotia. After Sheriff's death, the Folk Harbour Society, in collaboration with other Lunenburg organizations, launched a campaign to buy, restore and operate the building.

However, restoration of the Lunenburg Opera House began in 2006 when it was purchased by businessman Farley Blackman. The decade-long renovation that followed saw a new roof, new siding, windows, doors, insulation, seating, and more added to the historic structure. Blackman purchased it following rumors that it could be turned into a condo building, with street-level shops selling t-shirts. In an article in the local newspaper, Lighthouse Now, he said, "I thought this building needed to be used for its original intent. It would be for the arts - the arts for arts' sake. It's an opportunity for people to learn without travelling the world. Let's have the world come to Lunenburg."

In 2019, it was purchased by the Lunenburg Folk Harbour Society with financial help from the Fordi Family Foundation. The Lunenburg Opera House officially reopened on 5 October 2019 and the Lunenburg Folk Harbour Society has plans to use the building as an arts centre, a venue for the Lunenburg Folk Harbour Festival, as well as opening the space to rentals from other groups.^[3]

Anglican church in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. St. John's Anglican Church was the first church established in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the second Church of England built in Nova Scotia, and is the second oldest continuous Protestant church in present-day Canada. Early on 1 November 2001, St. John's church suffered significant damage by fire. It was restored and re-dedicated June 12, 2005.

The early congregation was mainly Foreign Protestants, including Lutheran Germans. The first missionary was sent by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel was the Rev. Jean-Baptiste Moreau (clergyman) (who is buried in the crypt below the church). Dettlieb Christopher Jessen donated a church bell that is displayed on the church grounds. (Jessen had the bell made by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry in London, the same company that made Big Ben and the Liberty Bell.) Jessen also donated a silver Paten and Chalice to the church (1814). Bells in the tower were given by Lt. Col. Charles Edwin Kaulbach (1902). Rev. Roger Aitken completed the rectory for the church on Townsend Street (c.1816). The stone monument to John Creighton Sr. in the church was created by John Bacon (1777–1859), a nineteenth century sculptor. He created six monuments in St. Paul's Cathedral and many in Westminster Abbey.

The church remains a vibrant spiritual centre within the community and beyond. It is part of the Diocese of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island in the Anglican Church of Canada. The parish welcomed their first female rector, the Rev. Dr. Laura Marie Piotrowicz, in January 2019.^[5]