Nuuk

The site has a long history of habitation. The area around Nuuk was first occupied by the ancient, pre-Inuit, Paleo-Eskimo people of the Saqqaq culture as far back as 2200 BC when they lived in the area around the now abandoned settlement of Qoornoq.[9] For a long time, it was occupied by the Dorset culture around the former settlement of Kangeq, but they disappeared from the Nuuk district before AD 1000. The Nuuk area was later inhabited by Viking explorers in the 10th century (Western Settlement), and shortly thereafter by Inuit peoples.[10] Inuit and Norsemen both lived with little interaction in this area from about 1000 until the disappearance of the Norse settlement for uncertain reasons during the 15th century.

The statue of Hans Egede in Nuuk

The city proper was founded as the fort of Godt-Haab in 1728 by the royal governor Claus Paarss, when he relocated the missionary and merchant Hans Egede's earlier Hope Colony (Haabets Koloni) from Kangeq Island to the mainland. At that time, Greenland was formally still a Norwegian colony (until 1814) under the united Dano-Norwegian Crown, but the colony had not had any contact for over three centuries. Paarss's colonists consisted of mutinous soldiers, convicts, and prostitutes and most died within the first year of scurvy and other ailments. In 1733 and 1734, a smallpox epidemic killed most of the native population as well as Egede's wife.[11] Hans Egede went back to Denmark in 1736 after 15 years in Greenland, leaving his son Poul to continue his work.[12] Godthaab became the seat of government for the Danish colony of South Greenland,[13] while Godhavn (modern Qeqertarsuaq) was the capital of North Greenland until 1940, when the administration was unified in Godthaab.[14]

In 1733, Moravian missionaries received permission to begin a mission on the island; in 1747, there were enough converts to prompt the construction of the Moravian Brethren Mission House and the formal establishment of the mission as New Herrnhut (Danish: Nye-Hernhut). This became the nucleus for present-day Nuuk as many Greenlanders from the southeastern coast left their territory to live at the mission station. From this base, further missions were established at Lichtenfels (1748), Lichtenau (1774), Friedrichsthal (1824), Umanak (1861), and Idlorpait (1864),[15] before they were discontinued in 1900 and folded into the Lutheran Church of Denmark.[16]

Nuuk (Danish: Godthåb), c. 1878

Around 1850, Greenland, and especially the area around Nuuk, were in crisis. The Europeans had brought diseases and a culture that conflicted with the ways of the native Greenlanders. Many Greenlanders were living in poverty. In 1853, Hinrich Johannes Rink came to Greenland and was surprised at how local Greenlandic culture and identity had been suppressed under Danish influence. In response, in 1861, he started the Atuagagdliutt, Greenland's first newspaper, with a native Greenlander as editor. This newspaper based in Nuuk later became an important token of Greenlandic identity.

During World War II, there was a reawakening of Greenlandic national identity. The use of written Greenlandic grew, a council was assembled under Eske Brun's leadership in Nuuk. In 1940, an American and a Canadian Consulate were established in Nuuk.

Under new regulations in 1950, two councils amalgamated into one. This Countryside Council was abolished on 1 May 1979, when the city of Godthåb was renamed Nuuk by the Greenland Home Rule government. The city boomed during the 1950s when Denmark began to modernize Greenland. As in Greenland as a whole, Nuuk is populated today by both Inuit and Danes. Over a third of Greenland's total population lives in the Nuuk Greater Metropolitan area.[17]

An article examining indigenous influences on cities worldwide[18] suggested,

One city... stands out. Nuuk... has probably the highest percentage of aboriginal people of any city: almost 90% of Greenland's population of 58,000 is Inuit, and at least eight in 10 live in urban settlements. Nuuk also celebrates Inuit culture and history to an extent that is unprecedented in many cities with higher total aboriginal populations. By proportion and by cultural authority and impact, it may well be tiny Nuuk that is the most indigenous city in the world.[18]

Left: Satellite view. Right: Aerial view of Nuuk

Nuuk is located at approximately 64°10′N 51°44′W[19] at the mouth of Nuup Kangerlua (formerly Baal's River[20]), some 10 km (6.2 mi) from the shores of the Labrador Sea on the southwestern coast of Greenland, and about 240 km (150 mi) south of the Arctic Circle. Initially, the fjord flows to the northwest, to then turn southwest at 64°43′N 50°37′W, splitting into three arms in its lower run, with three big islands in between the arms: Sermitsiaq Island, Qeqertarsuaq Island, and Qoornuup Qeqertarsua.[21] The fjord widens into a bay dotted with skerries near its mouth, opening into Labrador Sea at approximately 64°03′N 51°58′W. Some 20 km (12 mi) to the northeast, reaching a height of 1,210 m (3,970 ft), Sermitsiaq can be seen from almost everywhere in Nuuk. The mountain has given its name to the nationwide newspaper Sermitsiaq. Closer to the town are the peaks of Store Malene, 790 m (2,590 ft), and Lille Malene, 420 m (1,380 ft).[22] The magnetic declination at Nuuk is extreme.[23][24]

View from the mountain Ukkusissaq, which means "soap stone" (in Danish it is called Store Malene)

Panorama of Nuuk

With 19,604 inhabitants as of January 2023,[32] Nuuk is by far the largest town in Greenland. The population of Nuuk has doubled since 1977, increased by over a third since 1990, and risen by almost 21% since 2000. In addition to those born in Greenland, data from 2015 showed 3,826 were born outside the country.[33] Attracted by good employment opportunities with high wages, Danes have continued to settle in the town. Today, Nuuk has the highest proportion of Danes of any town in Greenland.[34] Half of Greenland's immigrants live in Nuuk, which also accounts for a quarter of the country's native population.[22]

As the capital of Greenland, Nuuk is the administrative center of the country, containing all of the important government buildings and institutions. The public sector bodies are also the town's largest employer.[22]

As of January 2021, the mayor of Nuuk is Charlotte Ludvigsen. She replaced former mayor Asii Chemnitz Narup in 2019 following a social media scandal involving posts criticizing her party. Like Narup, Ludvigsen is a member of the Inuit Ataqatigiit party.[35]

Greenland's self-government parliament, the Inatsisartut, is in Nuuk. It has 31 seats and its members are elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms.[36] All of Greenland's major political parties have their headquarters in Nuuk, including the Inuit Ataqatigiit, Siumut, Democrats, Atassut, Association of Candidates and the Women's Party.[37]

The port of Nuuk

Air Greenland headquarters in Nuuk

Although only a small town, Nuuk has developed trade, business, shipping and other industries. It began as a small fishing settlement with a harbor, but as the economy developed rapidly during the 1970s and 1980s, the fishing industry in the capital declined.[43] The port is nevertheless still home to almost half of Greenland's fishing fleet. The local Royal Greenland processing plant absorbs landed seafood amounting to over DKK 50 million (US$7 million) per annum, mainly (80%) shrimp, but also cod, lumpfish and halibut.[22] Seafood, including seal, is also sold in abundance in Nuuk's fish markets, the largest being Kalaaliaraq Market. Minerals including zinc and gold have contributed to the development of Nuuk's economy.[44]

The city, like much of Greenland, is heavily dependent upon Danish investment and relies on Denmark for block funding.[45]

Education

University of Greenland

Nuuk has several educational institutions of higher learning. The University of Greenland (Ilisimatusarfik), the only university in Greenland, is in Nuuk. The university was founded in 1987 and expanded in 2007 with the new building, Ilimmarfik, housing departments of journalism, management and economics, language, literature and media, cultural and social history, theology and religion and social work. Nuuk is also home to the Department of Learning (Ilinniarfissuaq), the oldest educational facility in Greenland, in the old colonial part of Nuuk (Nuutoqaq: Old Nuuk). Other notable educational institutions include the Department of Nursing and Health Science, Nuuk Technical College and the Iron & Metal School.

Healthcare

Queen Ingrid's Health Center

The city is served by Queen Ingrid's Health Center. The health center serves as the regional health center for Region Sermersooq. It has an emergency room, and a central clinic with several general practitioners. Nuuk also has Queen Ingrid's Hospital which is the central hospital of Greenland.

Godthåbhallen exterior

Teletårnet, Nuuk

Nuuk's sports clubs include Nuuk IL (established in 1934), B-67, and GSS Nuuk. Nuuk Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium, used mostly for football games. The stadium has a capacity of 2,000.[67] The stadium can also be used as an entertainment venue: the Scottish rock band Nazareth performed at the venue. Nuuk also has the Godthåbhallen, a handball stadium. It is the home of the Greenland men's national handball team and has a capacity of 1,000.[67] There is a hill for alpine skiing with an altitude difference around 300 meters on the mountain Lille Malene,[68] with the valley station close to the airport terminal.[69] There is also the Nuuk golf course, the only arctic golf course in the world.[70]

• Maliina Abelsen, Greenland's Minister for Social Affairs
• Bibi Chemnitz (born 1983), fashion designer
• Agnethe Davidsen, Greenland's first female government minister
• Jesper Grønkjær, footballer
• Bo Lidegaard, historian
• Nils Nielsen, Football manager. Head coach for the Switzerland national women's team.
• Minik Thorleif Rosing, geologist.

• Coat of Arms of Nuuk
• Sisimiut, the second-largest city in Greenland

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Nuuk.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nuuk.

• Nuuk – Greenland's largest city and capital. Visitgreenland.com.