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Quebec City's small Quartier Latin , in the northeast section of Vieux-Quebec, is dominated by the seventeenth-century seminary in whose grounds stands the Basilique Notre Dame de Quebec (Mon-Fri 9am-2pm, Sat & Sun 9am-5pm and between shows ; free). The oldest parish north of Mexico, the church was burnt to the ground in 1922 - one of many fires it has suffered - and was rebuilt to the original plans of 1647. Absolute silence within the cathedral heightens the impressiveness of the Rococo-inspired interior, culminating in a ceiling of blue sky and billowy clouds. The silver chancel lamp, beside the main altar, was a gift from Louis XIV and is one of the few treasures to survive the fire. In the crypt more than nine hundred bodies, including three governors and most of Quebec's bishops, are interred. Champlain is also rumoured to be buried here, though archeologists are still trying to work out which body is his. Access to the cathedral is limited to half an hour at a time in the afternoons unless you pay for the 45-minute Act of Faith sound and light show (May to mid-Oct Mon-Fri 4-5 shows daily from 3.30pm, Sat & Sun 2-3 shows daily from 6.30pm; $7.50). Architectural details are illuminated and isolated in the darkness to give you a sense of the volumes that make up the church's interior. Next door to the cathedral, in the Maison du Coin, is the entrance to - and departure point for one-hour guided tours of - the ever-expanding Musee de l'Amerique Francaise , whose four sections occupy a small part of the old Seminaire (June-Sept daily 9.30am-5pm; Oct-May Tues-Sun 10am-5pm, www.mcq.org ; $4, free on Tues Sept-June). The Seminaire was founded by the aggressive and autocratic Monseigneur Francois de Laval-Montmorency in 1663. In the three decades of his incumbency, Laval secured more power than the governor and intendant put together, and any officer dispatched from France found himself on the next boat home if Laval did not care for him. Laval retired early due to ill health, brought on by a religious fervour that denied him blankets and proper food. Death finally came after his feet froze on the stone floor of the chapel during his morning prayer session. At its construction, the seminary was the finest collection of buildings the city had seen, leaving Governor Frontenac muttering that the bishop was now housed better than him. Primarily a college for priests, the seminary was also open to young men who wanted to follow other professions, and in 1852 it became Laval University, the country's first francophone Catholic university. Today, only the school of architecture remains; most of the other departments were moved to the western suburb of Ste-Foy. The Welcome Pavilion in the Maison du Coin has a small exhibition on the early colonists upstairs and adjoins the Roman-style chapel, whose Second Empire interior houses Canada's largest collection of relics - bones, ashes and locks of hair, a few of which are on display. Laval's memorial chapel contains his ornate marble tomb, but not his remains, which were moved to the basilica when the chapel was deconsecrated in 1993. The whole interior is a bit of a sham, though - fed up with rebuilding after the chapel burnt down yet again in 1888, the church authorities decided to construct the pillars and coffered ceilings out of tin and paint over them; the stained-glass windows have been painted on single panes of glass and even the tapestries are the result of some deft brushwork. The wrought-iron gates between the Welcome Pavilion and the basilica lead into a vast courtyard flanked by austere white buildings with handsome mansard roofs, through which you can pass to visit the rest of the museum. Alternatively, take the underground corridor directly from the chapel; a photo exhibit fills in the history of the Seminaire's buildings. Either way, you end up at the Pavillon Jerome-Demers (same opening hours as the museum), which displays mostly well-presented, historical exhibitions, which are only a tiny sample of the eclectic items gathered by Quebec's bishops and academics at Laval: scientific instruments, an Egyptian mummy - with a remarkably well-preserved penis - a diverting collection of European and Canadian paintings assembled by the art historians, as well as silverware and some of Laval's personal belongings.
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