Canada/Manitoba: Lower Fort Garry

Lower Fort Garry National Historic Site is located about 30 km north of Winnipeg and dates back to the early 1830s, when it was built by the Hudson’s Bay Company. It was intended as a le center for the fur trade, although it never fulfilled its original purpose as a main trading post. The fur trade was the main economic activity between the indigenous First Nations here and the Europeans from the Hudson’s Bay Company. The scale was immense, with furs, particularly beaver pelts, being shipped from remote trading posts like this fort to European markets. This trade network extended across the continent, from the Hudson Bay in the north to the Great Lakes and beyond, and played a crucial role in the economic development and exploration of Canada. Lower Fort Garry is unique because it is one of the few stone forts from the fur trade era still standing. The fort has stone walls, large buildings, and well-preserved structures, including the Big House, where the governor resided, and the warehouse, which stored trade goods. Exploring the fort is like stepping back in time with costumed interpreters describing the life in the early 19th century. The most mindblowing part is the storage building with hundred and hundred of fur s hanging from walls and ceiling – bears, wolves, foxes, minks, beavers, raccoons, ermines – if you can’t see these animals in the wild – this is why!