Ramparts of Old Quebec

The walls

The walls run 4.6 kilometres around the Upper Town

The city wall surrounds the western end of Old Quebec's Upper Town. The southern portions of the ramparts form a part of the Citadelle of Quebec. The other sides of the Upper Town are protected by steep cliffs.

4.6 kilometrestotal length of the ramparts

A panic

The 1745 wall was ordered in a panic, without approval from France

After the Fortress of Louisbourg fell to the British in 1745, the residents of Quebec City went into panic. The governor general ordered a new masonry wall without approval from France, built further west to make room for growth in the Upper Town.

Sieges

The walls were in poor repair in 1759 but still held in later sieges

French commanders noted the poor condition of the ramparts before 1759, and it was partly why General Montcalm met the British outside the walls. The British then held out behind them in 1760 and again in 1775 against an American siege.

The cannon

The British added about 300 cannon around the walls in 1837

From the 1820s to 1830s the British expanded and improved the ramparts. Approximately 300 cannon pieces were placed around the rampart in 1837, and the work was complete in the late 1830s with the Citadelle of Quebec.

300cannon pieces placed around the rampart in 1837

The gates

Lord Dufferin stopped two of the gates from being demolished in 1871

Four main gates give access to the Upper Town: Kent Gate, Prescott Gate, Saint-Jean Gate and Saint-Louis Gate. Palace Gate and Hope Gate were demolished in the 19th century. Kent Gate was erected in 1879.