Narsaq

Narsaq sits on a plain at the mouth of a fjord in south Greenland with mountains behind it, a town of some 1,300 people that lives on fishing and sheep. The Narsaq Museum occupies old colonial buildings and covers Norse and Inuit history in the region. The Ilímaussaq intrusion in the mountains behind holds an unusual concentration of rare minerals, some found nowhere else, and mineral collecting draws specialists to the area.

History

People have lived here for thousands of years, though not continuously; the Norse church ruins of Dyrnæs lie on the north-western edge of town, and the Landnám homestead just to the west, dated to the year 1000, is among the oldest Norse ruins in the area, excavated from 1953. The present town was founded as Nordprøven in 1830, a trading colony of Julianehaab with a deep natural harbour where seal hunters traded blubber and skins, and as sealing failed in the early 1900s the economy turned to fishing; its population grew from 25 in 1870 to 300 in 1930, the first prawn factory opened in 1953, and Narsaq became a town in 1959 (Wikipedia, Narsaq).

Highlights

• The museum - the collection in the old colonial buildings on Norse and Inuit history.
• The Ilimaussaq minerals - the intrusion holding species found nowhere else.
• The fjord setting - the town on a plain at the fjord mouth below mountains.
• The sheep farming - the agriculture of the surrounding district.

When to go

June to September is the season. Boats and helicopters run then; winter service is limited. Weather cancels connections regularly.

What to expect

Access is by boat or helicopter only and both are weather dependent and expensive. Mineral collecting is regulated and permits may be needed. Facilities in the town are limited.

Nearby

Narsarsuaq is northeast, and Qaqortoq is southeast.

Key facts