Itilleq (old spelling: ''Itivdleq'') is a settlement in the
Qeqqata
Qeqqata (, da, Centrum, lit=Centre) is a municipality in western Greenland, operational from 1 January 2009. The municipality was named after its location in the central-western part of the country. Its population is 9,378 as of January 2020. Th ...
municipality in central-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 ...
. It is located on a small island around 1 km from the mainland, 45 km south of
Sisimiut
Sisimiut (), formerly known as Holsteinsborg, is the capital and largest city of the Qeqqata municipality, the second-largest city in Greenland, and the largest Arctic city in North America.The term 'city' is loosely used to describe any popula ...
and 2 km north of the
Arctic Circle
The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the most northerly of the five major circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth. Its southern equivalent is the Antarctic Circle.
The Arctic Circle marks the southernmost latitude at w ...
on the shores of
Davis Strait
Davis Strait is a northern arm of the Atlantic Ocean that lies north of the Labrador Sea. It lies between mid-western Greenland and Baffin Island in Nunavut, Canada. To the north is Baffin Bay. The strait was named for the English explorer Jo ...
. It had 89 inhabitants in 2020.
History
Itilleq was founded in 1847 on another island, but was later moved 1 kilometer east to its present location.
Economy
The main trade in the settlement is fishing and hunting, with a
fish factory
A fish factory, also called a fish plant, fish processing facility, is a facility where fish processing is performed. Fish factories range in the size and range of species of fish they process. Some species of fish, such as mackerel and herring, a ...
being the principal employer in the settlement. The island has no freshwater, and for this reason Itilleq makes use of a facility for forming freshwater from seawater. The village is served by the communal all-purpose
Pilersuisoq
Pilersuisoq is a chain of all-purpose general stores in Greenland, a major division of the Parliament of Greenland, state-owned KNI (Greenland Trade), KNI conglomerate. Like its parent company, it is based in Sisimiut (Holsteinsborg), the list of ...
store.
Transport
There is no road connection to any other settlement, but that is so for most other settlements in Greenland.
Air
The closest aerodrome is
Sisimiut Airport
Sisimiut Airport ( kl, Mittarfik Sisimiut) is an airport located northwest of Sisimiut, a town in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland. The airport has a single runway designated 13/31 which measures , built on the northern shor ...
in Sisimiut, with connections 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 ...
,
Kangerlussuaq
Kangerlussuaq (; ; da, Søndre Strømfjord), is a settlement in western Greenland in the Qeqqata municipality located at the head of the fjord of the same name. It is Greenland's main air transport hub and the site of Greenland's largest commer ...
,
Maniitsoq
Maniitsoq (), formerly Sukkertoppen, is a town in Maniitsoq Island, western Greenland located in the Qeqqata municipality. With 2,534 inhabitants , it is the sixth-largest town in Greenland.
History
Archaeological finds indicate that the area ...
, and
Nuuk
Nuuk (; da, Nuuk, formerly ) is the capital and largest city of Greenland, a constituent country of the Kingdom of Denmark. Nuuk is the seat of government and the country's largest cultural and economic centre. The major cities from other co ...
operated by
Air Greenland
Air Greenland A/S (formerly named Grønlandsfly), also known as Greenlandair, is the flag carrier airline of Greenland, owned by the Greenlandic Government. It operates a fleet of 32 aircraft, including 1 airliner used for transatlantic and cha ...
.Air Greenland, Departures and Arrivals There are no regular
helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...
services to coastal settlements of Davis Strait in the Qeqqata and
Sermersooq
Sermersooq (, da, sted med meget is, lit=place of much ice) is a municipality in Greenland, formed on 1 January 2009 from five earlier, smaller municipalities. Its administrative seat is the city of Nuuk (formerly called Godthåb), the capital ...
municipalities. But Itilleq has a helipad (20m, gravel) referenced also in the AIP (BGIQ), so there is on-demand air service possible.
Sea
Royal Arctic Line
Royal Arctic Line A/S (RAL) or Royal Arctic is a seaborne freight company in Greenland, wholly owned by the Government of Greenland. It was formed in 1993, and is headquartered in Nuuk.
History
Royal Arctic Line A/S was spun off as a company se ...
provides weekly ferry services to
Sarfannguit
Sarfannguit (old spelling: ''Sarfannguaq / Sarfánguaq'') is a settlement in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland. Its population was 96 in 2020. The settlement was founded in 1843.
and Sisimiut, a port of call for the
Arctic Umiaq Line
Arctic Umiaq Line A/S (AUL) or Arctic Umiaq is a passenger and freight shipping line in Greenland. Its name derives from the Kalaallisut word for the traditional Inuit passenger boat, the umiak, distinguished from the kayak, used for hunting. The ...
, with connections to Ilulissat and
Aasiaat
Aasiaat () or Ausiait, formerly Egedesminde, is a town in the Qeqertalik municipality in western Greenland, located in the heart of Aasiaat Archipelago at the southern end of Disko Bay. With a population of 3,069 as of 2020, it is Greenland's fo ...
in the
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 ...
region, and to coastal towns in southwestern and southern Greenland.AUL, Timetable 2009 /ref>
Population
The population of Itilleq has been stable in the last two decades.Statistics Greenland
Notable residents
*
Hans Enoksen
Hans Enoksen (born 7 August 1956) is a Greenlandic politician who served as the third prime minister of Greenland from 2002 to 2009.
A Greenlandic monoglot, he has been a member of the Parliament of Greenland since 1995. He became Minister for F ...