Explore the new Heritage Interpretive Classroom to learn about the historic of this iconic landmark, -Summer hours – Tuesday – Saturday 10am – 4:30 pm, Winter hours: call 902-634-8130
Attend a musical performance at Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance (LAMP), which offers advanced studies in performance and showcases world-class performers
Bring the family for a picnic on the Academy grounds with a playground or relax with a book in the on-site library
Overview
Known as “the Castle on the Hill”, this iconic landmark in Old Town Lunenburg UNESCO World Heritage Site, was designed by New Brunswick architect H.H. Mott in 1893 in a time of transition from one-room schoolhouses to public educational buildings. Designated a National Historic Site, the Lunenburg Academy operated as a public school for grades primary to nine from 1895 until 2012, and remains the only surviving, intact 19th century academy building in Nova Scotia and one of very few in Canada.
The Heritage Interpretive Classroom tells the story of the Academy’s many contributions to both the local community and provincial education system, and sheds light on historical social and educational inequities. This permanent instalment will include displays on the academic curriculum, extra curricular activities, and customs.
The Heritage Interpretive Classroom is operated by the Lunenburg Academy Foundation to provide a meaningful experience to alumni, past staff, visitors and residents.
Heritage Interpretive Classroom
off season Hours of Operation: call for information or to request a group tour
Admission: by donation
Lunenburg Academy is one of the very few large scale wooden buildings in Canada still surviving from the nineteenth century. Its unique and picturesque design makes it an excellent representation of late Victorian eclectic architecture. The exterior remains intact and many interior features also remain, including wainscoting, stairways and banisters, detailed hinges and doorknobs, and the layout of classrooms and cloakrooms. The Academy’s imposing form and prominent towers can be seen for miles around, and it is visible from many approaches to Lunenburg. It is often referred to as ‘the Castle on the Hill’ and it is one of the most striking of Lunenburg’s large stock of nineteenth century buildings. The colour scheme of the building – white, black and red – helps to bring out the details of the exterior and make it even more visible within the streetscapes and view planes of Lunenburg. Uniting the town and county beyond, the school connected citizens near and far in ways they had never been before and became a cornerstone in the development of Lunenburg that remains to this day.
