Ilulissat

The Lutheran church, photographed in 1869

The town was established as a trading post by Jacob Severin's company in 1741 and was named in his honor.[9][10]

The Zion Church (Zions Kirke) was built in the late 18th century, and was the largest man-made structure in Greenland at the time.[10] The final resident of nearby Sermermiut moved to Ilulissat in 1850.[11]

Ilulissat Declaration

Main article: Ilulissat Declaration

The town was the site of the Arctic Ocean Conference in May 2008.[12] The joint meeting between Canada, Denmark, Norway, Russia, and the United States was held to discuss key issues relating to territorial claims in the Arctic (particularly Hans Island - eventually settled in 2022[13] -, and Arktika 2007) and Arctic shrinkage produced by climate change.[14]

The Ilulissat Declaration arose from the conference. It stated that the law of the sea provided for important rights and obligations concerning the delineation of the outer limits of the continental shelf, the protection of the marine environment (including ice-covered areas), freedom of navigation, marine scientific research, and other uses of the sea. It also said that it remained committed to this legal framework and to the orderly settlement of any possible overlapping claims.

With this existing legal framework providing a solid foundation for responsible management, there was no need to develop a new comprehensive international legal regime to govern the Arctic Ocean. The states involved would continue the developments within the Arctic Ocean and continue to implement appropriate measures to further said developments.[15]

A panoramic view at Ilulissat in February 2006

The Ilulissat Icefjord (Greenlandic: Ilulissat Kangerlua) southeast of Ilulissat was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004.[21]

Ilulissat has a tundra climate (ET) with long, cold winters and short, cool summers. Ilulissat is one of the driest settlements in Greenland, receiving only 271 millimetres or 10.67 inches of precipitation. Ilulissat is also one of the sunniest settlements in Greenland, especially during summer. Interestingly, March is the coldest month in Ilulissat despite similar locations experiencing February as the coldest month of the year. March also holds the all-time record low temperature of −37.8 °C or −36.0 °F.

With 4,670 inhabitants in 2020, Ilulissat is the largest town in the Avannaata municipality. The population increased over 8% relative to 1990 levels but has remained steady since around 2003.[26]

• Ilulissat Art Museum

Ilulissat domestic airport destinations

Air

Ilulissat Airport is located 2.8 km (1.7 mi) to the northeast of the town center and was built in 1983.[27] It serves Ilulissat with connections to towns in northwestern and midwestern Greenland via Air Greenland. Service to Reykjavík, Iceland, began in April 2011 via Air Iceland Connect and Air Greenland in 2017.

Sea

The Arctic Umiaq ferry links Ilulissat with Sisimiut, Nuuk, and other towns and settlements on the western and southwestern coast of Greenland.

The town is home to Nagdlunguaq-48 who play in the Greenlandic Men's Football Championship, Greenland's top soccer competition. Nagdlunguaq-48, who play all their league games in Nuuk, have won the championship ten times (as of 2016).

The fourth series of the Danish TV series Borgen (2022) plays partially in the city of Ilulissat and was filmed on location.[28] It was also the location for the filming of Smilla's Sense of Snow (1997).[29]

• Knud Rasmussen (1879–1933), noted polar explorer and anthropologist, referred to as the "father of Eskimology".[30] Born in Ilulissat,[31] Rasmussen was the first man to cross the Northwest Passage via dog sled. He remains well known in Greenland, Denmark and among Canadian Inuit.[32]
• Jørgen Brønlund (1877–1907), was also a polar explorer born in Ilulissat, He grew up with Rasmussen and accompanied him, along with Harald Moltke and Ludvig Mylius-Erichsen, on the Danish Literary Expedition (1902–1904) to examine Inuit culture. In 1906 he joined Mylius-Erichsen and Peter Høegh Hagen on the Danmark-ekspeditionen to map the northernmost regions of Greenland. Jørgen Brønlund Fjord in Peary Land is named after him.[33]
• Jens Rosing (1925–2008), a Greenlandic artist notable for designing the coat of arms of Greenland, numerous Greenlandic postage stamps, as well as illustrated children's books and water colours − was born in Ilulissat.
• Ricky Enø Jørgensen, racing cyclist.

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  Church and doctor's residence of the town Jakobshavn (1900)
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  Ilulissat harbor
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  Cruise ships in the fjord front of Ilulissat
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  Drank nettle for boiling blubber in Ilulissat, Greenland
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  Knud Rasmussen's birthplace in Ilulissat, Greenland; Knud Rasmussen's Museum
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  Kayaking in Ilulissat
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  Dog sled sign in Ilulissat
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  Cruise ship at Ilulissat port
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  Ilulissat, old part of the city with icebergs from the Ilulissat Icefjord in the background
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  Sailing in Ilulissat Icefjord
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  The football field
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  Ilulissat welcome sign
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  Ilulissat Airport from the south.
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  Blue iceberg in the Ilulissat Icefjord
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  View of Ilulissat city from the sea
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  Ilulissat under snow
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  Ilulissat from the plane
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  Ilulissat Church