Ilulissat

Ilulissat is Greenland’s third largest town and is located at the head of Qeqertarsuup Tunua (Disko Bay) just north of the Kangia estuary (Ilulissat Icefjord). Ilulissat means ‘icebergs’. The large Sermeq Kujalleq glacier at the head of Kangia is the world’s most productive, moving at 40 m a day. The glacier calves around 46 km³ of ice a year, creating various sized ice floes and icebergs, some of which are extremely large. The largest icebergs become stranded on a bank about 5 km off the estuary of the fjord. At times, this causes Kangia to pack tightly until the stranded icebergs calve (capsize and become smaller) and are pushed past the bank so the fjord suddenly ‘shoots out’.

The town’s Danish name is Jakobshavn, named after the merchant Jakob Severin, who founded the area’s first trading post in 1741.

Ilulissat is the main town of Avannaata Kommunia. 349 people live in the district’s four settlements and 4,710 live in the main town.

Ilulissat’s history

The ice that releases oxygen and nutrients contributes to an extraordinarily abundant wildlife in the fjord, so the estuary of the fjord has been home to several and, by the standards of those days, large settlements. The Saqqaq people was, after a short gap, followed by the Dorset people, after which followed a long period without settlements until the Inuit settled around year 1150.

One of the country’s largest known Inuit settlements is Sermermiut (place of the glacier people) at the Kangia estuary on the north side of the fjord a few kilometres from present-day Ilulissat. From the 17th century, the population increasingly came into contact with European whalers and started trading tusks.

The establishment of the trading post in 1741 provided more stable trading opportunities for the Inuit, who traded e.g. blubber, skins and ivory for firearms, equipment and beads. Slowly, the population at Sermermiut began to move the few kilometres to the colony with its trading post that in 1805 had 86 residents.

A seminary for Catechists was established in 1848, which led to in increased cultural awareness.

The last residents moved from Sermermiut in 1850, and the colony’s population reached 262. Already 30 years later, the population had grown to 418. With the many people and the great considerable trade in blubber and skins, the catchment area became too small and there were periods of famine and hardship. New trading posts were established in the colonial district in order to spread the population. Ilulissat was hit by a severe tuberculosis outbreak in 1867 where a third of the population died.

As kerosene and other crude oil products became widespread in Europe, the demand for blubber dropped significantly. As a substitute for earnings from seal hunting, longline fishing of Greenland shark became the primary source of income from the 1890s, and the shark’s liver was exported due to its high oil content. Shark fishing was largely supplemented by longline fishing for Greenland halibut from the fjord ice for own consumption and for feeding dogs, which gradually led to exports to Denmark with 22 tons of Greenland halibut being traded in 1899. Thus, the transition from hunting to fishing began earlier in the Jakobshavn area than in the rest of the country. This meant that the population to a greater extent transitioned to money economy because it was more difficult to become self-sufficient as a fisher than as a seal hunter.

With fishing as the new main trade, the settlement policy changed, and during the interwar years, the Danish authorities wanted to gather more of the district’s population in Ilulissat. The population in 1938 was at 528.

The decolonisation and modernisation after World War II strengthened Denmark’s desire to gather the population, e.g. to be able to intensify fishing. At the same time, large quantities of cod came to Qeqertarsuup Tunua (Disko Bay), and cod fishing further boosted the economic and population growth while making the Greenland halibut less important. However, the cod adventure did not last for long, and the cod already started disappearing from Qeqertarsuup Tunua in the 1960s. At the same time, the fishing of shrimp from cutters, which had much greater economic importance than cod, started gaining momentum. Activities meant that an Atlantic wharf was built in 1960, and in 1961, a dam for the water reservoir was established to ensure water supply. In 1962, the Royal Greenland Trading Department (KGH) established an actual fish factory that was expanded in 1969 to increase shrimp production. In addition to shrimp, frozen cod, Atlantic catfish, Greenland halibut, etc., were produced and the factory employed 200 employees during the season. In 1967, a private fish factory producing shrimp and frozen Greenland halibut fillets was established.

The development led to considerable construction activity, and by 1969 a total of 20 contractors employed a total of 113 people, most of whom came from Denmark. During an intense period, much of the town’s central infrastructure was established such as the heliport (1965), Hotel Hvide Falk (1970), the town’s two large primary schools (1974 and 1977), a sports hall (1976) as well as several large blocks of flats. Water supply and a sewer system was established in parts of the town and the hospital was expanded (1980).

In connection with the forced closure of the coal mining town of Qullissat by the Danish State in 1972, many of the locals were moved to Ilulissat where most moved in to blocks of flats in a neighbourhood that by many has since been called Qullissaaqqat (Little Qullissat).

In 1969, the population reached 2,382, and by 1977 the town’s population had grown to 3,572. From the mid-1980s, fishing for Greenland halibut started again, and in 1998, Royal Greenland established a Greenland halibut factory. In 2010, a group of local fishermen founded the Halibut Greenland factory as a competitor to Royal Greenland.

Development of tourism in Ilulissat

South Greenland used to be the main tourist destination, but up through the 1980s tourists shifted their focus, and Ilulissat with Kangia (the Icefjord) became the country’s most visited tourist destination. A development that was gradually supported by tourism-related infrastructure. In 1984, Ilulissat domestic airport was established approx. 3 km north of the town, and Air Greenland opened Hotel Arctic next to the road to the airport. In the coming years, several tour operators started working from the town. The increased activity led to greater demand for accommodation, which is why the accommodation for the contractors during the construction of the airport was turned into a hostel. Over the past few decades, Hotel Icefiord and Hotel Avannaa have been opened, and all hotels in the town have been expanded. Capacity was increased again in 2021 with the opening of Hotel Ilulissat in the town centre. Today, Ilulissat has five hotels, four guesthouses/hostels as well as several bed & breakfasts.

Interest in visiting Ilulissat only increased when The World Heritage Committee in 2004 included Kangia (Ilulissat Icefjord) on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The Ilulissat Isfjordscenter opened in 2021 in a partnership between the Greenland Self-Government, Avannaata Kommunia and Realdania. The centre has created much international and national attention for its architectural qualities and as an information centre for Kangia (the Icefjord) as well as the culture, nature and history of the area.

Another attraction is the museum area which features several of the old colonial houses, including Knud Rasmussen’s birth home.

Geography and infrastructure of Ilulissat

Ilulissat and the surrounding landscape are characterised by low and soft glaciated mountains and vast plains. The town is relatively level without major elevation differences, except where the plateau descends relatively steeply towards the port. Architecturally, the town is a mix of single-family houses, terraced houses, new blocks of flats as well as housing blocks from the modernisation period under the Danish centralisation policy. Over the past few decades, the town has been extended north along the road to the airport.

Most of the town’s housing is connected to the water network and there is plenty of water in the catchment area to supply the town, however, during spring thaw, the water quality may be reduced. About threequarters of the town is connected to the sewer system, while the rest of the town has sludge tanks or toilet buckets and collection of latrines. In areas without a sewer system, primarily in the western part of the town, the grey wastewater is discharged from washing and bathing directly to the terrain.

The majority of the town’s roads are paved, and the central roads have street lighting. The Kussangajaannguaq road, which goes from the square above the port in a southerly direction towards Kangia and the UNESCO area, is a popular hiking trail for the many tourists. Most of the 20 tourist agencies and tour operators as well as a large part of the town’s shops are therefore located along the road.

Ilulissat is supplied with electricity from the hydropower station at Paakitsoq about 45 km northeast of the town. The town uses less than 60 % of the station’s capacity, and the station will therefore be able to support a major expansion of the town.

Ilulissat Hospital serves as the district hospital for Avannaata Kommunia. In the graduating classes, the two primary schools also have students from the district’s four settlements. Perorsaanermik Ilinniarfik (College of Social Education) is located in Ilulissat and is the town’s only higher education institution.

Royal Arctic Line calls at Ilulissat weekly with a container ship, which may be cancelled in winter due to ice. During summer, the town is the northernmost destination for the Arctic Umiaq Line’s coastal passenger ship, and the Disko Line calls on the other towns and settlements in Qeqertarsuup Tunua (Disko Bay) with smaller ships. Domestic flights depart for Kangerlussuaq and most large towns on all weekdays, and in summer, there are also flights to Reykjavik. During winter, there is a helicopter connection to the settlements in the district and those of the towns in Qeqertarsuup Tunua that do not have a runway.

An international airport is currently being built at Ilulissat, which is expected to be ready in 2024. The airport is going to have flights to Denmark in summer and it is also planned to establish summer connections to other European and US destinations. In 2022, the municipality will begin expanding the existing airport road to two lanes all the way to the airport.

In connection with the coming airport, the municipality plans a road east of the existing airport as well as areas for a new commercial port north of the airport because the physical framework makes it difficult to expand the existing port and limits the possibilities of fish factories. Nordre Næs and the area around the drinking water lake have been designated as future residential, shopping mall and commercial areas, and construction has begun at the drinking water lake.

The UNESCO area prevents urban development to the south, but the primary obstacle is the drinking water lakes and surrounding water barrier zones northeast of the town. It is therefore planned to use other lakes and thus move the water barrier zone further into the hinterland.

Trade and industry in Ilulissat

Fishing for Greenland halibut and shrimp is Ilulissat’s absolute biggest source of income, followed by tourism.

The Greenland halibut is primarily caught by longline from open dinghies near the bank off Kangia (Ilulissat Icefjord). In winter, longline fishing takes place from the ice on Kangia, which is reached by dog sled. Shrimp, however, is caught from trawlers. Royal Greenland primarily produces frozen shelled shrimp and, to a somewhat lesser extent, Greenland halibut and has up to 120 employees. Halibut Greenland, which has up to 40 employees, primarily processes Greenland halibut. In 2020, a total of 21,749 tonnes of fish and shellfish were traded in Ilulissat and the nearby settlements. Shrimp accounted for 63 % and Greenland halibut 33 % of the total quantity. The trading value of Greenland halibut is higher and amounted to DKK 154.7 million, whereas it was DKK 132.3 million for shrimp.

The total workforce of Ilulissat is 2,425 people. In terms of employment, the largest industry is public administration and service, including education and health care, accounting for 40 % of the town’s jobs. Trawler fishing and coastal fishing as well as fish processing and related industries account for about 25 % of jobs, while trade, etc. account for 10 %, transport 6 %, construction 9 %. Total employment in the tourism sector including accommodation and hospitality is around 7 % during the low season and around 14 % during the peak season.

There are three large supermarkets and several smaller grocery shops in the town, a number of clothing, electronics and souvenir shops as well as restaurants and small cafes. There are also some bars, mainly in the hotels that, together with the venue Naleraq, make up the town’s nightlife.

Before COVID-19 caused a slowdown in international tourism, there were 31,103 overnight guests in Ilulissat in 2019, of whom 11,844 were from Greenland. In the same year, there were 14,762 cruise tourists.

Further reading

• Avannaata Kommunia
• Education
• Health and care
• Industry and labour market
• Infrastructure
• Qaanaaq
• Towns and settlements
• Upernavik
• Uummannaq

Read more about the Municipalities and towns in Greenland