Lunenburg is a Canadian port town in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia. Situated on the province's South Shore, Lunenburg is located at the western side of Mahone Bay. The town was established during Father Le Loutre's War, four years after Halifax. The town was one of the first British attempts to settle Protestants in Nova Scotia intended to displace Mi'kmaq and Acadian Catholics. British settlement posed a lasting, grave and certain threat to Mi'kmaw hegenomy over their traditional territory. Considering that British conditions for peace required surrender of Mi'kmaw sovereignty to the Crown, the Wabanaki Confederacy raided Lunenburg nine times in the early years of the settlement in an attempt to reclaim their loss. The historic town was designated a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site in 1995. This designation ensures protection for much of Lunenburg's unique architecture and civic design, being the best example of planned British colonial settlement in Canada. The historic core of the town is also a National Historic Site of Canada.
