text: Old Town The original planned town was built on a steep south-facing hillside. It was laid out with compact lots in a rectangular grid pattern of narrow streets without regard to the topography. It is now known as the Old Town, and is the part of town which is protected by UNESCO. It is also the site of the old harbour. About 40 buildings in this area are on the Canadian Register of Historic Places including:
  Knaut-Rhuland House, 1793: Now a museum run by the Lunenburg Heritage Society.
  Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church, 1890: large wooden church.
  St. John's Anglican Church, 1763: large wooden Carpenter Gothic church.
  The Lunenburg Opera House is also in this area, though built in 1909, and not on the registry.
  In 2005, the province of Nova Scotia bought 17 waterfront buildings from Clearwater Foods, the owner of the High Liner Foods brand, to ensure their preservation. Ownership was transferred to the Lunenburg Waterfront Association. Shipbuilding infrastructure worth $1.5 million was added to the Lunenburg waterfront as part of the Bluenose II restoration project, which started in 2010.
  The site of the Smith & Rhuland shipyard is now a recreational marina.
  The Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic, part of the Nova Scotia Museum, includes a small fleet of vessels, including Bluenose II.