Nuuk

© Styrelsen for Dataforsyning og Infrastruktur
Morning in Qaqortoq/Myggedalen. The area consists mainly of tightly positioned GTO standard houses decorated in different shades and with gables facing the water.
REBECCA GUSTAFSSON/VISIT GREENLAND, 2016

Nuuk means ‘headland’ in Greenlandic and describes the place where the town was founded in 1728. The town is located at the mouth of the extensive fjord system Nuup Kangerlua (Godthåbsfjorden) on the southwest coast, about 250 km south of the Arctic Circle.

Nuuk is the main town in Kommuneqarfik Sermersooq, Greenland’s capital and seat of the government, where Inatsisartut and Naalakkersuisut (parliament and government) work. With a population of 19,261, one-third of the Greenland population lives in the town (2022).

There are two settlements in Nuuk district: Kapisillit further into Nuup Kangerlua and Qeqertarsuatsiaat about 130 km to the south. They have a total population of 223. Opposite Kapisillit lies the sheep farm Neriunaq in an area with many leisure huts. The abandoned settlement of Qoornoq midway between Nuuk and Kapisillit is a popular sojourn, especially during the recreational sailing season.

History of Nuuk

Long before the town was founded, the mild summer climate at the head of the fjord system attracted the Norse, who have left multiple traces of settlements that are collectively referred to as Vesterbygden. Similarly, with changing settlements, the Inuit have for centuries enjoyed the optimum hunting opportunities in the fjord system.

The missionary Hans Egede arrived in the area in 1721 and settled on Kangeq (Haabets Ø) at the entrance to Nuup Kangerlua (Godthåbsfjorden). This was not an optimum location and was therefore abandoned in favour of the Godthåb colony in 1728. Haabets Ø and Godthåb are named after the ship Haabet, which carried Hans Egede and his entourage. 2021 marked the 300 anniversary of Greenland being colonised and the introduction of Christianity, which sprung from Godthåb.

The Godthåb colony was established in Nuutoqaq (Kolonihavnen) at a natural harbour on the western side of the headland, Nuuk. Some of the buildings and facilities built by the mission and trade in the 1700s and up to the early 1900s still exist today.

The oldest buildings in Nuuk

In the foreground, the old teachers’ training college building, which now serves as the administration of GUX Nuuk. In the background is the cathedral and the statue of Hans Egede.
KARSTEN SCHNACK/BIOFOTO/RITZAU SCANPIX, 2004

Hans Egede’s stone house from 1728 is Greenland’s oldest preserved building and now serves as the reception rooms of the Government of Greenland. Next to the house lie the old goat barn and carpentry workshop (built in the 1890s). On the other side of the path lies the original cooper’s workshop built in 1758, later a bakery and painting workshop and today a workshop for the Greenland National Museum, which in close vicinity and since 1978 has been housed in the original warehouses from 1929‑30 that was expanded in 1992.

At a suitable distance from the colony, the Moravian mission built the mission house, which was completed already in 1747 and is now used by the Greenland Ombudsman Institution. It was also here that Ilisimatusarfik (University of Greenland) started in 1984.

Annaassisitta Oqaluffia (Church of Our Saviour) is Greenland’s cathedral. The church was built in 1848‑49, and the church tower was added in 1928. Next to church lies the old rural deanery from 1847.

In Nuutoqaq, there are a number of buildings from the 1800s, e.g. the inspector’s house and the qivittoq house (both from 1831), the provisions stall (1850), another cooper’s workshop (1887) and a crew house from 1848. Further south lies the current official residence of the Premier, originally built in 1906 and used as a doctor’s residence. That is why it is yellow, which is the colour of the health care system.

The government seat of Nuuk

In 1911, Greenland had two elected provincial councils, one for North Greenland seated in Qeqertarsuaq (Godhavn) and one for South Greenland seated in Nuuk (Godthåb), which served as advisers to the Danish State. During World War II, the administration was gathered in Nuuk under the leadership of the chief administrative officer for North Greenland, Eske Brun, while the chief administrative officer for South Greenland, Aksel Svane, was in charge of Greenland’s interests in Washington, and in 1940, the United States established a consulate in Nuuk, which was active until 1953.

In connection with the Greenland Commission’s major modernisation plan for Greenland, G-50, it was considered to move the capital to another open-water town because the commission found that the commercial opportunities in Nuuk were poor. However, when the two provincial councils were formally merged into one in 1950, it was seated in Nuuk, which was given the status as capital at the same time. The merged Provincial Council served until the introduction of Home Rule in 1979 and played a significant role in the modernisation of the country.

Naalakkersuisut has many employees in the central administration at addresses around the town, but primarily in two building complexes close to Nuutoqaq (Kolonihavnen): The tower in Nuuk Centre from 2012 and the original administration building built in stages in the period 1966‑86 next to it. The latter also houses the chamber of the Inatsisartut (Parliament of Greenland) which has 31 members.

The Greenland office of the organisation for indigenous peoples of the Arctic, Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICCs), is located in Nuuk.

Urban development and infrastructure

Port of Nuuk. In the background are some of the multi-storey housing blocks that have been built in recent years as part of the urban development. The multi-storey housing blocks have partly replaced some of the block construction of the 1960s.
HANNIBAL HANSCHKE/REUTERS/RITZAU SCANPIX, 2021

Nuuk developed slowly from the time of Hans Egede until around 1950; in 1947, the colony had a population of 789.

At that time, the town consisted of Nuutoqaq (Kolonihavnen) with the Teachers’ Training College and some small houses as well as a road built in the 1930s to the new port on the opposite side of the headland. The port administration was housed in the now listed building at the far end of the quay. Buildings were gradually built for administrative, commercial purposes as well as housing along Aqqusinersuaq (Skibshavnsvejen), but the housing remained very scattered.

1950 to 1980

The new coastal path, started in 2018, marks the interaction between town and nature and offers the opportunity for beautiful hikes.
PETER LINDSTROM/VISIT GREENLAND, 2019

In an effort to gather the population in fewer settlements, the district of Qaqortoq (Myggedalen) was established by the Greenland Technical Organization (GTO) during the 1950s, among other things to attract hunters from the smaller settlements so that they could be part of the fishing or work in the town. The area consists of single and semi-detached houses, part of which have been updated to modern standards.

The heliport at the current football field and Inussivik was established in the early 1960s and was in use until the town got its own airport in 1979. The Qorsussuaq school from 1952 was supplemented by two new primary schools, Atuarfik Samuel Kleinschmidt (1967) and Ukaliusaq (1969). Qorsussuaq closed in 2011 and now serves as Greenland’s Maritime Education Centre (Imarsiornermik Ilinniarfik).

The first sports hall with a fullsize handball court, Godthåbhallen, opened to Nuuk’s citizens in 1969. The population of Nuuk reached 7,166 in the same year.

On the other side of the Quassunnguaq ridge, which bounds the town to the east, the 400-rtalik road was established, initially for the town’s new power station (built in 1975) and a commercial area, both in Sarfaannguit.

The tunnel under Nuussuaq, the large headland, was built at the same time to provide access to the town’s then waste landfill on the other side where the incineration plant is located today. The tunnel is, then as now, one-lane, although the town’s road users have long needed two lanes.

The blocks Q, R, S and T on Tuapannguit, 1‑10 and P on Narsarsuaq (Sletten) and 11‑16 on Qapiarfiusaaq (Radiofjeldet) were built by GTO during an intense construction period from 1966 to 1974. Block 17 completed the construction of terraced houses and housing blocks on Qapiarfiusaaq some years later.

In the period up to 1979, the town on the headland had gradually become fully developed with schools, housing and a new urban centre around the town’s new town hall from 1980.

In 1979, Nuuk Airport opened in the area along Quassussuaq (Lille Malene), which at that time was very far away from the town itself. The long road to the airport opened up for new urban development, which began in Nuussuaq, where the first residents moved into Ole Brandt-ip Aqqutaa in 1979.

In 1980, the population of Nuuk was 9,077 – almost 20 % of Greenland’s total population.

1980 to today

The districts of Eqalugalinnguit and Paarnat followed in the late 1980s, Siaqinneq and Kangillinnguit in the 1990s and Qernertunnguit in the 00s, and most recently Issortarfimmut and Akunnerit. Nuussuaq and the mentioned areas were fully developed around 2010. Urban development in Nuuk was – and still is – primarily driven by the lack of housing.

As a precursor to the new university buildings, Pinngortitaleriffik (Greenland Institute of Natural Resources) moved into their new building in 1998, built in two sections connected by a glass canopy, which, seen from the inside, looks like a glacier crevasse. Ilisimatusarfik (University of Greenland) was added in 2007. Both are still under expansion.

Around the turn of the millennium, a road had been established and prepared for urban development in Qinngorput at the foot of the mountain Ukkusissaq (Store Malene). The area appears fully developed with supermarkets, marina, school, children’s institutions, restaurants and housing.

The next phase of urban development in Nuuk will take place south of Qinngorput on the headland below Ukkusissaq (Store Malene). The area is named Siorasiorfik and is expected to accommodate housing, public services and small businesses for 2,000‑3,000 citizens.

The old town centre is also undergoing massive urban development. Old and worn-out buildings, such as Block P, Q, R, S and Block 1, homes on Ceresvej and worn-out industrial and construction buildings are being renovated and make room for newbuilding. Areas are included on mountain ridges and along the abandoned water reservoir. New homes are being built, typically in the form of towers, but large and small companies are also building new domiciles. The country’s largest primary school is expected to open in 2024 on the site where Block P, once Greenland’s largest housing block, used to be.

The port in Nuuk is the largest in Greenland and was expanded in 2017 with a separate container port at Qeqertaq Avalleq (Fyrø) on the eastern side of the harbour basin.

A major expansion of Nuuk Airport, including to allow international flights, has been initiated and is expected to be commissioned in 2024. Hotels and especially conference facilities and competences take up a lot of space in the capital, and the industry expects and prepares for increased activity when the expanded airport opens in 2024.

Nukissiorfiit supplies electricity, water and heat to the capital. Since 1991, Nuuk has received its power supply from the hydropower plant at the head of Utoqqarmiut Kangerluarsunnguat (Buksefjorden) about 50 km southeast of the town, and the diesel-powered power station at Sarfaannguit (Nordhavnen) today functions as an emergency power station. With the steadily increasing population, both hydropower plants and emergency supply need to be continuously expanded to ensure power to the town’s citizens and businesses.

Nuuk gets its drinking water from Qallusuaq (Circussøen) behind Quassussuaq (Lille Malene). The water lake was last dammed in 2010 to increase the volume and to be able to meet the need.

Virtually the entire town is connected to a sewer system, which handles all kinds of wastewater that is discharged untreated into the fjord. Some households have sludge tanks and even fewer toilet buckets.

The town’s heat supply is a combination of district heating, electric heating as well as decentralised or individual oil-fired boilers and heating boilers.

The town’s communication lines to the outside world were significantly improved when the submarine cable connecting to Qaqortoq, Canada and Iceland opened in 2008. The same submarine cable opened up for new business opportunities in the IT industry. In Nuuk, there are 2‑3 large IT companies with national and international customers and an undergrowth of small companies.

Nuup Bussii is Greenland’s largest urban bus company and has 4‑5 routes that daily take passengers around the town from early morning to midnight. Nuuk also has two large taxi companies.

Nature and geography

With few exceptions, room has only been made for nature in areas with steep mountains, lakes and rivers. A cross-country skiing piste is available and a coastal trail was started in 2018. The trail is planned to go all the way around the town’s coastline, which marks the town’s link to the fjord system.

The Nuup Kangerlua (Godthåbsfjorden) fjord system is one of the largest in the world at about 9,000 km², or about the combined size of Zealand, Møn, Lolland and Falster in Denmark. It offers ample opportunities for hunting and fishing for both vocational hunters and spare time hunters as well as magnificent nature experiences with waterways between the large islands, countless promontory, high and steep mountains and the ice fjord at its head. This largely explains why there are well over a thousand recreational boats and two marinas in Nuuk.

Nuup Kangerlua also offers cultural experiences: remnants from Vesterbygden of the Norse, abandoned settlements that serve as school camps or holiday settlements, and a geology that offers a view so far back in time that it contributes to the understanding of the earliest history of Earth.

The town’s landmark, the Sermitsiaq (Sadelø) mountain, is located near the edge of the fjord system and at 1,210 m, it can be seen from most of the town.

Population trends, culture and health

Children playing on a hilltop in Nuuk.
PETER LINDSTROM/VISIT GREENLAND, 2019

The town’s population growth is expected to continue, but the municipality’s target of 30,000 residents by 2030 is hardly realistic. However, the new airport is very likely to attract both tourists and businesses, and thus create more jobs in the town. The trend of people moving from settlements and small towns to the capital doesn’t seem to be changing anytime soon.

Education

Nuuk is a large educational centre with students from all over the Greenland who come to get an education at GUX Nuuk (Central Greenland Upper Secondary School), a commercial education at Niuernermik Ilinniarfik, Commercial College, or a vocational training at Saviminilerinermik Ilinniarfik, Tech College Greenland, where you can train as a mechanic, electrician and blacksmith or in transport and logistics etc.

Nuuk’s cultural centre Katuaq is inspired by undulating architecture and designed by Schmidt Hammer Lassen. Katuaq is the venue for cultural events, conferences, etc., and also serves as a café. In the background is the tall hall of residence belonging to the School of Iron and Metal.
PETER LINDSTROM/VISIT GREENLAND, 2019

Imarsiornermik Ilinniarfik (Greenland Maritime Centre) offers training programmes in shipping, fishing and the hunting industries.

Peqqissaanermik Ilinniarfik, Centre for Health Education, offers training as a healthcare helper, healthcare or dental assistant, porter, dental hygienist and other specialisms.

At Ilisimatusarfik (University of Greenland) you can study Cultural & Social History, Social Sciences or Language, Literature & Media. The university also offers programmes in journalism, teaching, social services, nursing and theology. The number of PhD students and research is increasing.

The acting school, together with Nunatta Isiginnaartitsisarfia, National Theatre of Greenland, was started in 2011.

There are many dorms around the town, but rarely enough to meet the high demand.

There are five municipal primary schools and an international private independent school (NIF) in Nuuk.

Cultural institutions

In addition to the Greenland National Museum, the town has: Nuuk Art Museum, Nuuk Local Museum and Niels Lynges House, all run by Kommuneqarfik Sermersooq.

The art museum was established by Svend Junge in 2005 with the purpose of organising exhibitions and showcasing his large art collection to the public. The museum was handed over to the municipality in 2007. The building itself is interesting since it has previously served as a church, clinic and many other functions.

Nuuk Local Museum is located in Nuutoqaq (Kolonihavnen) in the town’s old boatyard. The permanent exhibition focuses on telling about the period from the 1950s and onwards when Nuuk became Greenland’s capital. The museum also offers changing exhibitions and events.

Niels Lynge’s House is a typical self-builder house from 1950 and belonged to the priest Niels Lynge, who was also a well-known painter and poet. The house stands as when Niels Lynge and his family lived in it, and it offers a wonderful look into a private home from the 1950s.

One of Niels’ sons was Hans Lynge, a highly acclaimed writer, sculptor and painter. He made the 13 tapestry friezes that decorate the council hall in Nuuk (1982‑87) and has given his name to Atuarfik Hans Lynge, the primary school in Qinngorput.

In 1997, the Katuaq Cultural Centre opened in the capital, which organises exhibitions, concerts and theatre performances as well as conferences and other cultural events. For example, since 2017, Nuuk International Film Festival has held an annual festival that shows films from Arctic filmmakers, typically in Katuaq’s great hall, which is a modern first-run cinema.

Nunatta Isiginnaartitsisarfia is an independent public institution. The theatre produces three or five performances each year.

Sports Associations

The Malik swimming baths which opened in 2003, was built by KHR Architecture. The 3,000 m2 large facility is beautifully located at the entrance to one of Nuuk’s marinas in the district of Nuussuaq.
REBECCA GUSTAFSSON/VISIT GREENLAND, 2016

Nuuk has many sports associations and offers many opportunities to play sports both indoors and outdoors during summer and winter. There are cross-country skiing pistes, a ski lift on Quassussuaq (Lille Malene), a 9-hole golf course, a riding course with Icelandic horses, countless artificial turf pitches as well as skate parks and BMX tracks. The multi-sports hall, Inussivik, was built in connection with the Arctic Winter Games in 2002. The hall is Greenland’s largest and was reused for the Arctic Winter Games in 2016.

Health and healthcare

The national hospital, Queen Ingrid’s Hospital, is located in Nuuk. During the tuberculosis epidemic in Greenland, a national tuberculosis sanatorium was established where the new national hospital is located today. The sanatorium was popularly called Sana – a name citizens of Nuuk continues to use for the hospital. The Greenland Diabetes Center is an integral of the hospital. A donation from Novo Nordisk has now secured an independent building for treatment and research in diabetes as well as consultancy in healthy lifestyles. Construction is expected to begin in 2023 where the fire station is located today – not far from the hospital.

Nuuk has two retirement homes with a total of 76 places.

Business

The capital of Greenland, Nuuk, has many public-sector employees since it is home to the administration of the Government of Greenland and the municipality. For the same reason, many of the country’s large companies, private as well as public, are headquartered in Nuuk.

Within transportation and handling of goods and passengers, we have Air Greenland, Royal Arctic Line, Arctic Umiaq Line (coastal passenger ships) and Sikuki Harbour (port operations in Nuuk), Visit Greenland (tourism strategy and marketing), Mittarfeqarfiit (airport operation) and Kalaallit Airports a/s (new airports etc.).

The important utility companies, Nukissiorfiit and Tusass (formerly Tele Post Greenland), also have their headquarters and development departments in Nuuk.

Mapping, research and monitoring of the physical environment throughout the country is handled and coordinated from Nuuk by Pinngortitaleriffik (Greenland Institute of Natural Resources) and Asiaq – Greenland Survey.

The country’s two banks and many insurance companies, lawyers and accounting firms are headquartered in Nuuk.

Nuuk Imeq, which supplies beer and water to all towns and settlements subject to the Greenlandic deposit return system, has run its business from Nuuk since the start of production in 1989.

Royal Greenland and Polar Seafood are both headquartered and have fish factories in connection with the port in Nuuk. In total, the fishing industry employs more than 700 people in the town and has a turnover of many millions of Danish kroner.

A total of 65 people work with extraction of mineral resources, most of whom work in quarries that supply the construction industry, e.g. for the expansion of Nuuk Airport. Near the settlement of Qeqertarsuatsiaat south of Nuuk is a ruby mine run by Greenland Ruby A/S, which employs 10‑20 local people.

Greenland has few nationwide media, and they all operate from Nuuk. This applies to the public service station KNR, which broadcasts TV, radio and Internet news, and the independent media house Sermitsiaq/AG, which produces and broadcasts news on the Internet and publishes the two national newspapers AG and Sermitsiaq as well as the local paper Nuuk Ugeavis.

Key areas for Greenland under the Danish State are governed from Nuuk. This applies, for example, to the Joint Arctic Command and the Greenland Police, including large parts of the country’s emergency response in close cooperation with the Greenlandic authorities. Furthermore, the Danish Prison and Probation Service operates an open and a closed facility in Nuuk. The latter opened in 2019 in a newly built and top-secured building, which means that Greenland for the first time is able to provide secure detention for detainees, who previously would be detained in Denmark.

The Courts of Greenland are part of the Courts of Denmark and consist of four district courts, the Court of Greenland and the High Court of Greenland. Both the High Court, the Court of Greenland and the Sermersooq District Court are based in Nuuk. For the same reason, most law firms in Greenland are headquartered in Nuuk.

Since the 1950s, Nuuk has had a large and active construction industry. Construction takes place year round, see the description of urban development, and the industry often has so much to do that it lacks manpower.

A multitude of small and mediumsized enterprises and entrepreneurs in horticulture, fashion, boats, cars, sportswear and music contribute to the overall picture of the town’s business community.

Nuuk’s diversity

Mural in Nuuk. There are also criticisms of the ongoing urban development and the rapid pace of construction, dominated by tower blocks, which are seen as a contrast to a romanticised picture of the former Nuuk.
EMIL HELMS/RITZAU SCANPIX, 2021

The town of Nuuk, its citizens and climate are characterised by their diversity. The Nuuk’s citizens (called nuummiut) consist of Inuit, Danes (and a mix of the two), permanent newcomers especially from the Nordic countries and from Asian countries such as the Philippines and Thailand, but also from countries such as Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, etc. In practice, the many different nationalities mean that English is the town’s third main language, after Greenlandic and Danish.

The town’s climate ranges from moderate gale and precipitation to clear skies and no wind on the same day. In February, the coldest month, the average temperature is -8.3°C and in July, the warmest month, it is 7.0 °C. Tourists are starting to discover the unique experiences that the small Arctic capital with its large fjord system has to offer.

The town is characterised by a mix of thousand-year-old Inuit traditions, buildings and customs from the colonial era and a modern urban life with restaurants, cafes, concerts, theatre, cinema and sporting events. The town is home to quite a number of culture and film festivals and national and international conferences, e.g. in research and business development, that all add new facets to the town and change the perception of the town.

Nuuk overview map: 1) Herrnhut Mission House 2) High School (GUX) 3) Port Administration 4) Godthåbhallen 5) Emergency services 6) Nuuk Art Museum 7) University and Greenland Institute of Natural Resources 8) Ukaliusaq School 9) Samuel Kleinschmidt School 10) Business College 11) National Theatre of Greenland 13) Malik swimming baths 15) Queen Ingrid’s Hospital 16) Institution for convicts 17) Greenland Court 18) Hans Egede Church.

Further reading

Read more about the Municipalities and towns in Greenland

  • Bo Naamansen

    (b. 1968) MSc. in Surveying, Planning and Land Management. General Manager of Asiaq, Greenland Survey.