Annaassisitta Oqaluffia, Greenland’s cathedral

© Styrelsen for Dataforsyning og Infrastruktur

In the middle of snow-covered Nuuk rises the cathedral’s tower-adorned facade. In the multitude of buildings, the Ombudsman’s service residence can be seen, the large grey building that hides the long side of the church. The red two-storey building to the right of the church was the home of Greenland teachers’ training college from 1847 to the early 1900s. Since then, the house has served as the residence of the national dean, vice bishop and bishop.
REBECCA GUSTAFSSON/VISIT GREENLAND, 2016

Annaassisitta Oqaluffia, Greenland’s Cathedral, is the Church of Our Saviour in Nuuk. The elevated northsouth-facing church (23 × 12 m), located north of the old town, is clad in red-painted, lap-boarded planks, and the pitched roof is covered with shingles. A white-painted portico with a triangular gable, columns and stately staircase forms the entrance. Above this is a small tower with slender, copper-clad pyramidal roof and a clock from 1928, which was the year of the town’s 200th anniversary. Four dials are inlaid in the tower, so that you can see the time from all corners of the world.

The white-painted church room is panelled, and to both sides of the aisle are white-painted wooden benches. Instead of an altarpiece, there is a large crucifix flanked by two kneeling angels made of plaster of Paris. The altar silver, dated 1722, was donated by King Christian VI. On the south wall hangs a frequently reproduced painting by J.E.C. Rasmussen, which depicts the kneeling Hans Egede in a snow-covered landscape. Behind the church is a listed cemetery, where, among others, hymn writer Rasmus Berthelsen is buried.

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