Mahone Bay

The view of Mahone Bay is the three churches at the head of the harbour, Anglican, Lutheran and United, standing close together in a row and reflected in the water, which appears on more Nova Scotia calendars than any other subject. The bay itself is said to hold three hundred and sixty-five islands, one for each day, which is a saying rather than a survey. The town was a shipbuilding centre and wooden boats are still built and restored here. A wooden boat festival runs in summer, and the Nova Scotia Folk Art Festival brings the province's self-taught carvers and painters into the town.

History

The Mi'kmaq lived here first, and early French maps called the bay La Baye de Toutes Iles, the bay of many islands; its present name comes from the French mahonne, a kind of barge. From 1754 the British brought German-speaking settlers from Europe, starting in Lunenburg, German was long the main language, and gravestones in German from the late 1700s survive in Bayview Cemetery; forestry, shipbuilding, shipping and farming in the mid-1800s paid for churches and schools, the railway to Halifax came in 1903, and the town was incorporated in 1919 (Wikipedia, Mahone Bay).

The main sights

• The three churches - the row at the harbour head, reflected in still water.
• The wooden boat yards - working builders and restorers on the shore.
• The harbour front - shops and painted houses along the water.
• The folk art festival - Nova Scotia's self-taught artists in summer.

When to go

June to October; still mornings give the reflection the photographs use. The wooden boat festival and folk art festival are in summer. Winter is quiet with closures.

Practical notes

The town is small and walked in an hour. Summer coach traffic on the narrow main road is heavy. The classic view is from one specific point and often has cars in it.

Nearby

Lunenburg lies south; Blue Rocks is beyond it.