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58-572: According to the Quebec Toponymy Commission, the street is named after Mount Royal . A 1761 map shows a trail at the location of the current street called chemin des Sauvages de la montagne . It is also found under the name chemin de la Montagne in later maps, such as the map by surveyor Jean Péladeau in 1778. There is an urban legend that it was named after Jacob Mountain , first Anglican bishop of Quebec, or his son Bishop George Jehoshaphat Mountain . However, Jacob Mountain

116-548: A sculpture garden and Smith House, an interpretive centre . At the foot of the hill, overlooking Park Avenue , the park features the George-Étienne Cartier Monument (home to the Tam-Tams ) and a gazebo (more properly, a bandstand ) which has been named in honour of Mordecai Richler . The lush forest has been badly damaged, both by Mayor Drapeau's so-called morality cuts of the 1950s and by

174-567: A snow tube and toboggan run on one of the former alpine ski slopes, as well as 7 groomed cross-country ski and snowshoe trails which total 18 km (11 mi), with equipment rental available onsite. One of the most popular activities to do on Beaver Lake is to skate; this activity is free if you have your own equipment. The former alpine ski slope featured a T-bar and a 100-foot (30.5 m) drop. Mechanical lift devices were first installed in Mount Royal Park in 1945. In

232-417: A copy of Bref récit , a memoir that Jacques Cartier had given to King Francis I of France in 1545, and subsequently proceeded to describe Cartier's explorations in the third volume of his work, Delle navigationi et viaggi . The 1556 edition contains assorted illustrations by Giacomo Gastaldi , including La Terra de Hochelaga Nella Nova Francia , describing Cartier's visit on Mount Royal ( Monte Real on

290-512: A great flood that swept up to the town palisades. In 1876, land owner and farmer James Swail began planning residential subdivisions on the western slope of Mount Murray, in what is now the Cote-des-Neiges district. In 1906, a large housing development was started in the area, called Northmount Heights, with homes built along what is now Decelles Street by developer Northmount Land Company. Much of this area has since been expropriated by

348-589: A horse, and carried them." Cartier's description suggests that the village of Hochelaga was linked to the occupation of the area by the St. Lawrence Iroquoians, a group of Indigenous sedentary farmers who inhabited the St. Lawrence Valley between 1200 and 1600 CE. Jacques Cartier 's exploration of the West Indies did not go unnoticed in Venice , in particular by Giovanni Battista Ramusio , statesman and secretary of

406-481: A mystery in the present day, despite the numerous hypotheses that locate it close to Mount Royal . William Douw Lighthall maintained that Hochelaga was located at the Dawson site, discovered in 1860 close to McGill University . The site appears to correspond to a village preceding the foundation of Ville-Marie by one or two centuries, but which lacked a palisade and seemed to be too cramped. Another proposed location

464-525: A skating rink. The park is also home to the CBC 's Mount Royal transmitter facility, which comprises two large buildings: one used primarily by the CBC for its 2 Montreal stations, CBMT-DT and CBFT-DT , and one used by the private television stations. There is also a short (about 100 m (328 ft)) candelabra tower, from which nearly all of Montreal's television and FM radio stations broadcast. Because of

522-546: Is Outremont , north of the mountain, which would be more likely if Cartier had arrived via the Rivière des Prairies . The urbanist Pierre Larouche, based on the topometric data deduced from the Gastaldi illustration, has proposed that the village was situated on the summit of the mountain. This hypothesis is not well-supported, as La Terra de Hochelaga is a second-hand reconstruction. Furthermore, Cartier states clearly that

580-470: Is a gabbro composed of pyroxene , olivine and variable amounts of plagioclase . During and after the main stage of intrusion, the gabbros and surrounding rocks were intruded by a series of volcanic dikes and sills . Subsequently, the surrounding softer sedimentary rock was eroded , leaving behind the resistant igneous rock that forms the mountain. The mineral montroyalite, discovered in Montreal,

638-538: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Mount Royal Mount Royal (French: Mont Royal , IPA: [mɔ̃ ʁwajal] ) is a mountain in the city of Montreal , immediately west of Downtown Montreal , Quebec , Canada . The city's name is thought to be derived from the mountain's name. The mountain is part of the Monteregian Hills situated between the Laurentians and

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696-431: Is named after the mountain that provided the definition sample. Circa 3000 BC, the mountain's imposing presence in the centre of the island, views of the river and majestic forests made it a choice location for indigenous peoples travelling through the region. The mountain was also a rich source of hornfels, sharp-edged rocks used instead of flint to make tools and weapons for hunting. Over time, indigenous populations used

754-684: Is possible that Cartier traveled to Hochelaga via this river. Furthermore, the three rapids described by Cartier on a subsequent expedition are easier to locate on the Rivière des Prairies, the so-called "river of three saults", than on the Saint Lawrence River. Aristide Beaugrand-Champagne , the architect of the Grand Chalet of Mount Royal Park , wrote in detail about this. On 2 October 1535 (489 years ago)  ( 1535-10-02 ) , Jacques Cartier and his troupe arrived in

812-470: Is that the name Montréal was adopted because a Venetian map from 1556 used the Italian name of the mountain, "Monte Real." The name was first applied to the island and was unofficially applied to the city, formerly named Ville-Marie , by the 18th century. In 1643, Paul de Chomedey, Sieur de Maisonneuve made a pilgrimage to the top of the mountain to fulfill a vow made in the winter season on occasion of

870-582: Is the deep extension of a vastly eroded ancient volcanic complex , which was probably active about 125 million years ago. The mountain, along with the other mountains of the Monteregian Hills , was formed when the North American Plate moved westward over the New England hotspot . By a process known as intrusion , magma intruded into the sedimentary rocks underneath the area, producing at least eight igneous stocks. The main rock type

928-401: Is the site of Mount Royal Park (French: Parc du Mont-Royal ), one of Montreal's largest greenspaces . The park was originally designed by Frederick Law Olmsted (who also co-designed New York City's Central Park ) and was inaugurated in 1876, although not completed to his design. Olmsted had planned to emphasize the mountainous topography through the use of vegetation. Shade trees at

986-421: Is usually lit in white, but can now be changed to any colour, including the purple traditionally used upon the death of a pope. Beside the cross, a plaque marks the placement of a time capsule in 1992, during Montréal's 350th birthday celebration. It contains messages and drawings from 12,000 children, depicting their visions for the city in the year 2142, when the capsule is scheduled to be opened. The mountain

1044-435: The 1976 Summer Olympics , the park itself hosted the individual road race cycling event. The hilly roads of the park have subsequently been used for the 1974 UCI Road Cycling World Championships , and the annual Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal cycling race. Mount Royal is about 4 kilometers ( 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles) east to west and 2.5 kilometers ( 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles) north to south. The mountain emerges from

1102-540: The Appalachian Mountains . It gave its Latin name, Mons Regius , to the Monteregian chain. The mountain consists of three peaks: Colline de la Croix (or Mont Royal proper) at 233 m (764 ft), Colline d'Outremont (or Mount Murray , in the borough of Outremont ) at 211 m (692 ft), and Westmount Summit at 201 m (659 ft) elevation above mean sea level. Mount Royal

1160-793: The Council of Ten . A career diplomat, his role as ambassador brought him to numerous European countries. Ramusio, who was seven when the Genovese Christopher Columbus reached the Americas in 1492, considered the discovery of new lands as being the most important undertaking of the time. In effect, the republic was facing a grave problem accessing the Indian Subcontinent , since the Ottoman Turks had taken Constantinople in 1453. Ramusio obtained

1218-580: The Ice Storm of 1998 , but has since largely recovered. The forest is a green jewel rising above downtown Montreal and is known for its beautiful autumn foliage as well as its extensive hiking and cross-country ski trails. Biking is restricted to the main gravel roads. From 1885 to 1920, the Mount Royal Funicular Railway brought sightseers to its peak. After it ceased service, Montreal's No. 11 streetcar brought visitors to

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1276-610: The Montreal General Hospital ; McGill's Molson Stadium , home to the CFL 's Montreal Alouettes ; the McTavish reservoir ; Université de Montréal ; the École Polytechnique de Montréal ; the Îlot-Trafalgar-Gleneagles historic block; and some well-off residential neighbourhoods such as Upper Westmount and Upper Outremont . Hochelaga (village) Hochelaga ( French pronunciation: [ɔʃlaɡa] )

1334-835: The Université de Montréal . In 1914–1918, the Mount Royal Tunnel was dug under the mountain by the Canadian Northern Railway , a predecessor of the Canadian National Railway . It is currently used by the Réseau express métropolitain . The area was briefly considered as a candidate for the site of Expo 67 before the exposition grounds were ultimately built on adjoining islands in the Saint Lawrence River . For

1392-433: The plains occupied by Montreal and neighboring regions . Two roads cross the territory: Mount Royal is home to many animal species including gray squirrel , raccoon , fox , marmot , striped skunk , bee and various species of birds. From the point of view of the flora , the mountain shelters a set of natural spaces and semi-natural rich in trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants The first Mount Royal Cross

1450-666: The 1940s, there were two and a half miles of ski slopes available. A ski shop was first installed in the park in 1938. Prior to that, in the 1920s, one of the best ski jumps in Canada was the one on Mount Royal, near Côte-des-Neiges . Founded in 1840, the now-defunct Montreal Snow Shoe Club , with members drawn from some of Montreal's prominent businessmen, would meet each week during the winter at nightfall on Sherbrooke Street near McGill College Avenue to snowshoe through Mount Royal Park, lit by torchlight. Club members began wearing blue tuques on their outings around 1870. Recently,

1508-555: The Iroquoian people at Hochelaga. The original documentation that describes the village’s location is Bref récit et succincte narration de la navigation faite en MDXXXV et MDXXXVI , which Cartier gave to King Francis I of France in 1545. A plan exists titled La Terra de Hochelaga nella Nova Francia , which illustrates, in the European manner of the period, Cartier's original visit. Giacomo Gastaldi illustrated Hochelaga in

1566-540: The abandonment of the village following a cycle of land exhaustion would have been the main reason. At the time of Samuel de Champlain 's arrival, both Algonquins and Mohawks hunted in the Saint Lawrence Valley and conducted raids, but neither had founded any permanent settlements. The custom of moving villages is a possible explanation as to why the exact location of the Iroquois settlement remains

1624-447: The bottom of the carriage path would resemble a valley. As the visitor went higher, the vegetation would get more sparse to give the illusion of exaggerated height. However, Montreal suffered a depression in the mid-1870s and many of Olmsted's plans were abandoned. The carriage way was built, but it was done hastily and without regards to the original plan. None of the vegetation choices were followed. The park contains two belvederes ,

1682-406: The center of each house was a common room, where the indigenous people built a fire and lived as a community. When the tour of the village was over, Cartier and his companions were then guided up Mount Royal, probably on the back of a man, according to a custom of courtesy he mentions further down. The mountain was "distant from the village by about a quarter-league". Once atop the summit of one of

1740-416: The countryside is situated and sits the said town of Hochelaga, near and joining a mountain that is, around it, ploughed and very fertile, from on top of which one can see very far." Cartier declared that the mountain would be named Mount Royal , in honour of King Francis I of France , as was customary in that period. He then visited Hochelaga, and noted its organization, giving a detailed description of

1798-447: The federal Department of Transport because of the proximity to the flight path to Trudeau Airport nearby. The engineering challenge was to combine all the desired antennas in the limited space between the mountain top and 1100 feet above sea level, which led to the "candelabra" design. Outside the park, Mount Royal's slopes are also home to such Montreal landmarks as Saint Joseph's Oratory , Canada's largest church; McGill University ;

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1856-415: The foot of what is now known as Mount Royal , was an episode especially consequential to the history of New France in his three exploration voyages to the West Indies . Under a mandate from King Francis I to find a waterway to Cathay ( China ) and to Cipango ( Japan ), he reached Stadacona (the future site of Québec City ) at the end of the summer of 1535. Encouraged, he quickly continued further into

1914-510: The former village was placed in 1925 on land adjacent to McGill University . It is believed to be in the vicinity of the village visited by Cartier in 1535. The site of the marker is designated a National Historic Site of Canada . The name of the village survives in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve , the name of a neighbourhood of Montreal; a variant spelling survives in Montreal's contemporary Osheaga Festival . Most linguists accept

1972-465: The hills comprising the mount, Cartier declared: "We can see the said river, other than where we left our barques, where there is a rapid, the most impetuous it is given to see, one which is not possible for us to pass." Once the visit was over, Cartier and his men returned to their boats: "We withdrew to our boats, not without a great number of the said people, a part of which, that when they saw our people tired, took them upon themselves, as on

2030-570: The inhabitants gradually dropped that name, preferring to use instead the name of the island upon which the colony was established, Montreal , a toponym derived from mont royal , the French name of Mount Royal. For a long time, it was considered obvious that Jacques Cartier had continuously followed the Saint Lawrence River ; the rapids he mentioned were identified as the Lachine Rapids . Some think his description better corresponds to

2088-422: The interior of a longhouse and how people lived in it: "The said town is all in a circle, enclosed in wood, in three ranks, in the manner of a pyramid, crossed at the top, having a row perpendicular to it all. And this town there is only one door and entrance. There are within this town roughly fifty houses, each about fifty steps long, and in each one of them, there are several hearths and several rooms." In

2146-503: The interior, but the rapids surrounding what is now the Island of Montreal blocked his route. He would then visit Hochelaga, which he described in Bref récit , a brief account of his second voyage to the Saint Lawrence Valley . In 1611, the European explorer Samuel de Champlain visited the area. In 1642, the village of Ville-Marie was founded by Paul de Chomedey, Sieur de Maisonneuve , but

2204-595: The map) in the European style of the time. One of the paintings in the Mount Royal Chalet is a reproduction of La Terra de Hochelaga by Paul-Émile Borduas , a member of the Refus Global . The film Hochelaga, Land of Souls (2017) depicts the arrival of the Cartier expedition at Hochelaga, as well as another fictionalized events occurring at the site of the village over the centuries. Hochelaga

2262-585: The more prominent of which is the Kondiaronk Belvedere, a semicircular plaza with a Mount Royal Chalet overlooking Downtown Montreal . Built in 1906, it is named for the Petun chief Kondiaronk , whose influence led to the Great Peace of Montreal in 1701. Other features of the park are Beaver Lake (a small artificial lake), a snow tube and toboggan run, cross-country skiing trails,

2320-689: The mountain was "adjacent to their said village", that Hochelaga was "close to and adjoining a mountain", and that he went to Mount Royal a distance of a quarter- league of the site, the distance that, in fact, separates the basin of Mount Royal from the surrounding hills dominating it. Archaeological excavations undertaken recently on the summit of the mountain, around the basin, and in the Jeanne-Mance Park east of Mount Royal have come up empty. The exact location of Hochelaga remains unknown. The arrival of Jacques Cartier in Hochelaga in 1535, at

2378-467: The mountain's wood to build villages and its fertile land to grow their main agricultural crops—corn, squash and beans—known as the Three Sisters. The first European to scale the mountain was Jacques Cartier , guided there in 1535 by the people of the village of Hochelaga . He named it in honour of his patron, John Royal. He wrote in his journal : "And among these fields is situated and seated

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2436-474: The peak until 1959. A roadway named for longtime but controversial former mayor Camillien Houde now bisects the mountain, although Houde had been opposed to the idea of putting a road through the park. The park, cemeteries, and several adjacent parks and institutions have been combined into the Mount Royal Natural and Historical District ( Arrondissement historique et naturel du Mont-Royal ) by

2494-525: The provincial government in order to legally protect the rich cultural and natural heritage of the region. In June 2017, during the 375th anniversary of Montreal, the city formally named the greenspace surrounding the Outremont peak Parc Tiohtià:ke Otsira'kéhne , Mohawk for "the place of the big fire," reflecting how the hill had been used for a fire beacon by First Nations people. It has an area of 35 hectares (86 acres). Mount Royal Park currently hosts

2552-431: The proximity of this tower to public areas of the park, in recent years significant concerns have been raised about radio-frequency radiation exposure; at several points formerly accessible to park users near the tower, radiation was found to be significantly higher than that permitted for the general public. The "shortness" indicated above was dictated by the maximum allowable height (1100 feet above sea level) dictated by

2610-447: The rapids in the Rivière des Prairies at Sault-au-Récollet . Close examination of historical documentation in the 20th century raised the possibility that before the European arrival, the Rivière des Prairies was the usual waterway used by the indigenous tribes, as it was much less dangerous than the Saint Lawrence River with its rapids. It constituted a more direct waterway connecting to the upstream Rivière des Outaouais . Therefore, it

2668-439: The safety of those present. Although initially controversial in light of the event's communal and countercultural vibe (as well as a permissive attitude towards then-illegal cannabis use), the police presence has not led to conflict. Facing the mountain across Park Avenue is Jeanne-Mance Park . A popular recreational area, Jeanne-Mance Park features a playground, a wading pool, tennis courts, various sports fields, and in winter,

2726-684: The said town of Hochelaga, near to and adjoining a mountain.... We named this mountain Mount Royal." One theory is that the name of the Island of Montréal derives from Mont Réal , as the mountain's name was spelled in Middle French ( Mont Royal in Modern French). However, Cartier's 1535 diary entry refers to "le mont Royal." Another argument, mentioned by the Government of Canada on its website concerning Canadian place names,

2784-513: The same time, encouraging others to dance. In addition, many children and adults participate nearby in a battle with foam-padded weapons. The Tam-tams began in the late 1970s with a workshop on African drumming at a jazz bar on Ontario Street. It is not organized by the municipal authorities. Despite initial resistance by participants, the city now intervenes in the event, restricting commercial activity to registered members in designated areas and assigning police and first aid technicians to ensure

2842-451: The settlement in his boat, while in others, they were bewildered by his European custom of greeting them with a handshake . These latter explanations are favoured by the Mohawk people further upriver at Kahnawake , but are not easily supported by the Mohawk language 's significant dissimilarities from what is known of the related but not identical Laurentian language , which was spoken by

2900-655: The third volume of Delle navigationi et viaggi , a work done in Venice between 1550 and 1556 by Giovanni Battista Ramusio . The perfect, regular arrangement of the houses, conforming to the urban ideal of the Italian Renaissance , as well as the boards covering the village's palisade, were probably his own fabrications. If the plan faithfully illustrates the notes of the French explorer, it offers little resemblance to ethnohistorical reality. A reproduction of La Terra de Hochelaga by Paul-Émile Borduas decorates

2958-663: The tradition has been revived as the Tuques Bleues celebration by the Les amis de la montagne , a charitable organization that works to protect and preserve the park. In the summer, Mount Royal hosts a popular activity known as Tam-Tams, or the "Tam-Tam Jam", whereby a number of Montrealers and visitors play hand drums (such as djembes ) on the east slope of the mountain, near the George-Étienne Cartier Monument . The Sunday afternoon gatherings attract people of various backgrounds. Often, dozens of tam-tam players perform their art at

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3016-427: The vicinity of Hochelaga. As night fell, he withdrew with his men aboard the boats. Early on the morning of October 3, along with his men and twenty marines, he undertook on foot the worn path to Hochelaga. After walking about two leagues , approximately 6 miles (9.7 km), he saw the village surrounded by hills and cultivated fields of corn. This appeared to him much more impressive than Stadacona: "And here within

3074-454: The walls of the Grand Chalet of Mount Royal Park . The town, surrounded by a wooden palisade, had around fifty houses made of wood and bark, mostly longhouses , both rectangular and rounded. the population is estimated to have been approximately 3,000 inhabitants. It was doubtlessly destroyed afterwards, as it was not mentioned by Jacques Cartier on his return visit to the island in 1541. He spoke about two villages, but only one, Tutonaguy ,

3132-480: The word Hochelaga as a French borrowing of an Iroquoian term – either osekare , meaning "beaver path" or "beaver dam", or osheaga , meaning "big rapids", in reference to the nearby Lachine Rapids . An alternative explanation has been proposed in which osheaga means "people of the shaking hands"; in some versions of this story, the Iroquoian people were bewildered by Cartier waving his hands wildly to attract their attention as he first approached

3190-515: Was a St. Lawrence Iroquois 16th century fortified village on or near Mount Royal in present-day Montreal, Quebec , Canada. Jacques Cartier arrived by boat on October 2, 1535; he visited the village on the following day. He was greeted well by the Iroquois, and named the mountain he saw nearby Mount Royal . Several names in and around Montreal and the Hochelaga Archipelago can be traced back to him. A stone marker commemorating

3248-575: Was named. War, possibly with Stadacona , has been suggested to be the cause of the disappearance of Hochelaga. The inhabitants' disappearance has spawned several theories, including their migration westward toward the shores of the Great Lakes , devastating wars with the Iroquois tribes to the south or the Hurons to the west, or the impact of Old World diseases . However, according to Archéobec ,

3306-463: Was neither the bishop nor resident in Quebec until 1793, long after the creation of maps bearing the name chemin de la Montagne . 45°29′54″N 73°34′33″W  /  45.498359°N 73.575949°W  / 45.498359; -73.575949 This Quebec road, road transport or highway-related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Montreal geographical article

3364-579: Was placed there in 1643 by Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve , the founder of the city, in fulfillment of a vow he made to the Virgin Mary when praying to her to stop a disastrous flood. Today, the mountain is crowned by a 31.4-metre-high (103 ft) illuminated cross, installed in 1924 by the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste and now owned by the city. It was converted to fibre-optic light in 1992, and then to LEDs in 2009. The cross

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