Qasigiannguit (), formerly Christianshåb, is a town located in western

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...

on the southeastern shore of

Disko Bay Disko Bay ( kl, Qeqertarsuup tunua; da, DiskobugtenChristensen, N.O. & al.Elections in Greenland. ''Arctic Circular'', Vol. 4 (1951), pp. 83–85. Op. cit. "Northern News". ''Arctic'', Vol. 5, No. 1 (Mar 1952), pp. 58–59.) is a large ...

in the Qeqertalik

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

. With 1,081 inhabitants in 2020, it is the thirteenth-largest town in Greenland. The main industry is

shrimp Shrimp are crustaceans (a form of shellfish) with elongated bodies and a primarily swimming mode of locomotion – most commonly Caridea and Dendrobranchiata of the decapod order, although some crustaceans outside of this order are refer ...

and

halibut Halibut is the common name for three flatfish in the genera '' Hippoglossus'' and ''Reinhardtius'' from the family of right-eye flounders and, in some regions, and less commonly, other species of large flatfish. The word is derived from ''h ...

fishing.

History

The settlement was founded as a trading post for

Jacob Severin Jacob Sørensen Severin (27 October 1691 – 21 March 1753) was a Danish merchant who held a trade monopoly on Greenland from 1733 to 1749. Biography He was born in Sæby, Denmark, to Søren Nielsen (c. 1655–1730) and his wife Birgitte Ot ...

's company in 1734Marquardt, Ole.
Change and Continuity in Denmark's Greenland Policy
in ''The Oldenburg Monarchy: An Underestimated Empire?''. Verlag Ludwig (Kiel), 2006. and named Christianshaab in honor of

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

Christian VI of Denmark.Del, Anden.
''Grønland som del af den bibelske fortælling – en 1700-tals studie''
" Greenland as Part of the Biblical Narrative – a Study of the 18th-Century" The name was sometimes anglicized as Christian's Hope.

Paul Egede Paul or Poul Hansen Egede (9 September 1708 – 6 June 1789) was a Dano-Norwegian theologian, missionary, and scholar who was principally concerned with the Lutheran mission among the Kalaallit people in Greenland that had been established by his ...

's former residence is Greenland's oldest surviving wooden building. It was completed on 25 July 1734 and moved to its present site in 1806 owing to the heavy wind at its original location across the bay. In 1997, a museum was officially opened in the Egede house. In the summer of 1999, an archaeological discovery provided the museum with a collection of finds from different prehistoric cultures.

Transport

Air

During the winter, Air Greenland operates air services from the town heliport to

Ilulissat Ilulissat, formerly Jakobshavn or Jacobshaven, is the municipal seat and largest town of the Avannaata municipality in western Greenland, located approximately north of the Arctic Circle. With the population of 4,670 as of 2020, it is the t ...

Qeqertarsuaq Qeqertarsuaq () is a port and town in Qeqertalik municipality, located on the south coast of Disko Island on the west coast of Greenland. Founded in 1773, the town is now home to a campus of the University of Copenhagen known as Arctic Station. ...

on Disko Island and Aasiaat.

Sea

During summer and autumn, when the waters of Disko Bay are navigable, communication between settlements is by sea only, serviced by Diskoline.Diskoline timetable
The ferry links Qasigiannguit with Ilulissat, Aasiaat,

Ikamiut Ikamiut is a settlement in the Qeqertalik municipality in western Greenland, located on a small island in the Aasiaat Archipelago on the southern shores of Disko Bay. Its population was 86 in 2020. Transport Air Greenland serves the village as ...

Akunnaaq Akunnaaq (old spelling: ''Akúnâk'') is a settlement in the Qeqertalik municipality in western Greenland. Its population was 66 in 2020. Akunnaaq is located east of Aasiaat on the Akunnaap Nunnaa island. The settlement was founded in 1850. Tra ...

, and Qeqertarsuaq.

Population

With 1,081 inhabitants as of 2020, Qasigiannguit is the second-largest town in the Qeqertalik municipality. The town is steadily depopulating, with the population having decreased by more than 27% relative to the 1990 levels and by nearly 17% relative to the 2000 levels.

References

{{Authority control Disko Bay Populated places in Greenland Populated places established in 1734 Populated places of Arctic Greenland 1734 establishments in North America 18th-century establishments in Greenland Qeqertalik