Located on the shore of a fjord that looks like a lake, the town got the name, Tasiilaq, which means ‘the place that looks like a lake’.
Tasiilaq has a population of 1,916, which has remained roughly stable for the past 10 years (2,062 in 2014) after a prolonged period of growth.
Tasiilaq is located on the southeast of the island of Ammassalik, which, with an area of about 730 km², is slightly larger than Bornholm. There are five settlements in Ammassalik district, with the largest being Kuummiut, Sermiligaaq and Kulusuk, all of which have 200‑250 inhabitants, and the smallest Tiilerilaaq and Isertoq.
History of Tasiilaq
Most of the east coast is characterised by being isolated in behind the storis (great ice) that drifts with the Irminger Current (Polar Current) from the North Pole down the east coast and around Uummannarsuaq (Cape Farewell), where it meets the Gulf Stream, dissipates and disintegrates.
The storis makes it very difficult to reach the coast, not least in the in the sailing ship era, and the population of the district first made contact with Europeans in 1884 in connection with the Umiak Expedition led by Gustav Holm. At that time, the vast district had about 400 people living in a highly developed Stone Age community, but hunger and malnutrition prevailed because the Norwegians hunted seals out in the storis, and the hunting opportunities within the storis were therefore modest.
The town was founded as a Danish trading station and mission in 1894 under the name Angmagssalik, which is derived from ammassat (the small capelin) and means ‘the place where ammassat is found’. Later, the spelling was changed to Ammassalik and it is maintained as the name for the district, while the other districts of the country are named after their main town.
The location of the colony was chosen because there was good shelter for sailing ships, and the storis did not enter the fjord to a significant extent, but the location was poor when it came to hunting opportunities. The colony therefore grew slowly and in 1939 had 122 Greenland-born inhabitants, while in the district, 750 lived in smaller settlements with better hunting opportunities, where the population primarily lived off hunting that had become easier with rifles and implements made of iron.
In 1942, the US Air Force established the Bluie East Two airport at the settlement of Ikateq as part of the air bridge to Europe, and an interaction with the inhabitants of the settlement occurred. The base closed in 1947.
In the post-war years, the Danish State considered that the business base was extremely modest, which is why the main focus was on the ‘survival’ of the population, while investments in infrastructure and business development were limited. From the late 1950s, however, the cod fishery was developed, and for a period up through the 1960s there was some cod fishing at Kuummiut and in the mouth of Ammassalik Fjord.
In conjunction with the DEW Line flight warning system across the ice sheet, in 1956, the US Air Force established the DYE-4 gravel runway at Kulusuk, which was also used for civil aviation. Again, an interaction occurred between Americans and local residents. When the Americans left Kulusuk in 1991, Mittarfeqarfiit took over operations.
Foehn winds from the ice sheet can produce severe storms in Tasiilaq – known as Piteraq – with gusts up to 70 m/s. After a particularly fierce Piteraq in 1970 with gusts of up to 90 m/s, where more than half of the houses sustained damage, many were completely damaged and the school disappeared, consideration was given to decommissioning the town. However, it was rebuilt, warning lights and sirens were put up, and the buildings were reinforced to withstand the fierce wind loads.
The natural and other business potentials of the district are not comprehensively mapped, and only modest investments have been made in infrastructure that supports business development.
Tasiilaq was the main town of Ammassalik Municipality and shares fate with the only other town on the east coast, Ittoqqortoormiit, barely 850 km to the north: At the municipal amalgamation in 2009, the two former main towns became part of Kommuneqarfik Sermersooq. Geographically, culturally and linguistically, they are far from the decision-makers in Nuuk on the other side of the ice sheet. At the time of the amalgamation, some administrative jobs disappeared, causing a drain of skills. Coupled with the small population base, a challenge is seen in maintaining a level of welfare, especially in the social and healthcare sectors. The municipality, the Self-Government and the Danish State are jointly trying to lift the town out of the social problems with various measures. In 2021, a youth centre opened in the town to provide a safe environment for a meaningful leisure life for young people.
Geography and infrastructure of Tasiilaq
Kulusuk Airport is the district’s primary approach route and typically has two weekly flights to Nuuk and two to three weekly flights to Iceland. From Kulusuk, there is a helicopter service to Tasiilaq and the district settlements. Between Tasiilaq and some of the settlements in the district, transportation by dog sled or snowmobile is possible in winter.
Royal Arctic Line’s ice-reinforced container ships call at Tasiilaq and the settlements every fortnight from June to early November.
The settlement in Tasiilaq is predominantly single-family houses and terraced house. Since 2004, the electricity supply has come from a small hydropower plant a few kilometres northwest of the town, and the old diesel power plant serves as an emergency power plant. In addition to electricity, Nukissiorfiit also supplies water to the town. Some dwellings are not connected to the supply network, so citizens have to get water from tapping houses or have it delivered. There is a municipal sewer network, but most of the houses still have toilet buckets and collection of latrines.
Telephony and internet are via satellite, making it is slow and costly for citizens, businesses and for the supplier, Tusass (formerly Tele Post Greenland).
The town’s topography with significant elevation differences means that some roads are very steep, and it puts demands on the brakes and traction of vehicles, especially when the roads are covered in snow and ice. Off-road ATVs are therefore very popular in the town.
Tasiilaq has a small health centre with medical staff. Children can finish primary school in the town, and in the oldest grades, the school also teaches children from the settlements who live in the town’s boarding house for school children.
Tourism, trade and industry in Tasiilaq
With its location amidst the harsh nature with the characteristic high steep mountains, the storis (great ice) and access to the ice fjord Sermilik with icebergs from several glaciers as well as air connection to Iceland via Kulusuk, Tasiilaq – and Ammassalik district – is Greenland’s second most visited tourist destination. Guests via Iceland contribute the majority of the 19,271 annual overnight stays on the east coast, incl. Ittoqqortoormiit (2019).
There are two hotels with restaurants, several cafes, guest houses and private accommodation, as well as a dozen tour operators in Tasiilaq, offering many kinds of experiences such as sailing and hiking, dog sledding, kayaking, etc. The rich culture and history of the district also attracts quite a few elderly tourists.
The Ammassalik Museum has been housed in the town’s old church above the port since 1990 and has a significant collection that illustrates the East Greenlandic cultural heritage. In addition to the church building, the museum consists of a chapel, a photo museum, a potato house and a peat house.
Tourism is growing, but fishing and hunting remain the main industries of the district, with seal and Greenland halibut as the primary species.
In 1989, Tussas (formerly Tele Post Greenland) opened Filateli which sells Greenland stamps to collectors worldwide.
Most people employed are in the public sector in education, administration, healthcare, municipal management as well as in the government-owned infrastructure companies, such as Nukisiorfiit, Mittarfeqarfiit, Air Greenland and Tusass (formerly Tele Post Greenland). In addition, some are employed in retail and construction and tourism also provides a lot of jobs.
Further reading
- Industry and labour market
- Infrastructure
- Ittoqqortoormiit
- Kommuneqarfik Sermersooq
- Museums of cultural history and heritage
- Paamiut
- Nuuk
- Population and demographics
- The five regional municipalities
- The ice sheet
- The sea and the fjords
- Towns and settlements
Read more about the Municipalities and towns in Greenland