Crédit: Yves Laframboise
The recognition of Wendake’s contribution to Quebec’s built heritage.
Old Wendake is located along the Saint-Charles River, on a height, about a dozen kilometers north of the urban region of Quebec City. This village-like settlement corresponds to the ancient part of the Huron village established in 1697.
The most striking element of the site is undoubtedly the Kabir-Kouba waterfall and the winding course of the Saint-Charles River, dotted with rocks and lined with trees that runs alongside the village. By its proximity to the river, one can easily imagine the interest this site may have represented to an Indigenous population eager to establish a permanent settlement at the end of the 17th century.
Unlike the villages in the Saint Lawrence Valley, usually grouped on either side of a linear axis, with houses distributed according to the spirit of the seigneurial system, the occupation of Wendake’s territory reflects more of a spontaneous formation process. There is no specific geometric model. Several streets are winding. One, Chef-François-Gros-Louis Street, is a simple connection route linking several other small streets.
Moreover, instead of facing the street, the houses typically all face Boulevard Bastien and overlook the backyard of the house opposite. Thus, visitors circulating on these streets only see the side of the houses. This original configuration, both unique and culturally surprising, is very well preserved today.
The cultural life there is abundant and deserves recognition for respecting the traditions of a people who inhabited the territory (and respected it) long before the arrival of conquerors from Europe and elsewhere.
