The Château Ramezay is a museum and historic building on

Notre-Dame Street Notre-Dame Street (officially in french: Rue Notre-Dame) is a historic east-west street located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It runs parallel to the Saint Lawrence River, from Lachine to the eastern tip of the island in Pointe-aux-Trembles, ...

Old Montreal Old Montreal (French: ''Vieux-Montréal'') is a historic neighbourhood within the municipality of Montreal in the province of Quebec, Canada. Home to the Old Port of Montreal, the neighbourhood is bordered on the west by McGill Street, on th ...

, opposite

Montreal City Hall The five-story Montreal City Hall (French: ''Hôtel de Ville de Montréal'') is the seat of local government in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was designed by architects Henri-Maurice Perrault and Alexander Cowper Hutchison, and built between 1872 ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Canada. Built in 1705 as the residence of then-governor of

Claude de Ramezay Claude de Ramezay, (15 June 1659 – 31 July 1724), was an important figure in the early history of New France. He was a military man by training and rose to being commander of the colonial regular troops. Life Claude de Ramezay was a son of T ...

, the Château was the first building proclaimed as a historical monument in Quebec and is the province's oldest private history museum. It was designated a National Historic Sites of Canada in 1949. Over the years, the Château changed owners and functions several times, with Ramezay's descendants selling the manor to the fur-trading Compagnie des Indes.

Continental army headquarters

From 1775, it became the Canadian headquarters for the Continental Army when it seized Montreal.

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...

stayed there overnight in 1776, while trying to raise troops to fight for the Americans in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

Governor's residence again

After the conquest until 1849 the house was again used as a governor's residence, this time by the British governors. For official purposes it was known as Government House and was the governor's official Montreal residence which complemented his other residence in

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...

(the

Chateau St. Louis The Chateau St. Louis (french: Château Saint-Louis) in Quebec City was the official residence of the French Governor of New France and later the British Governor of Quebec, the Governor-General of British North America, and the Lieutenant-Gov ...

), and a country retreat in Sorel.

University building

In 1878, the building opened its doors to host

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (UdeM; ; translates to University of Montreal) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte- ...

's first Faculty of Medicine.

Museum

The building was bought by the Numismatic and Antiquarian Society of Montreal and converted into an historical museum and portrait gallery in 1894. Sir Andrew Taylor designed alterations to the Chateau in 1895. Today, the museum's collection is composed mainly of gifts from private Montrealers and is estimated at 30,000 objects, including manuscripts, printed works, numismatic items, ethnological items, works of art, paintings, prints and furniture. From 1997 to 2002, the Château Ramezay underwent indoor and outdoor restorations, including the creation of the Governor's Garden, inaugurated in 2000. In 2003, the Château Ramezay Museum earned the National Award of Excellence from the Landscape Architects of Canada. It has greeted more than a million visitors.

References

External links

Château Ramezay, Official Web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chateau Ramezay Houses completed in 1705 Museums in Montreal Landmarks in Montreal Old Montreal History of Montreal Heritage buildings of Quebec History museums in Quebec Decorative arts museums Continental Army Government Houses in Canada Université de Montréal Museums established in 1894 Houses in Montreal National Historic Sites in Quebec Buildings and structures on the National Historic Sites of Canada register French colonial architecture in Canada Gardens in Canada Castles in Canada Historic house museums in Quebec 1705 establishments in the French colonial empire