Kujalleq ( Greenlandic: , da, Den Syden, lit=The South) is a municipality on the southern tip of

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 ...

, operational from 1 January 2009. The administrative center of the municipality is in

Qaqortoq Qaqortoq, formerly Julianehåb, is a city in the Kujalleq municipalities of Greenland, municipality in southern Greenland, located near Cape Thorvaldsen. With a population of 3,050 in 2020, it is the most populous town and the municipal capital in ...

(formerly called Julianehåb).

Creation

The municipality consists of the former municipalities of southern Greenland, each named after the biggest settlement: *

Nanortalik Municipality Nanortalik Municipality was a municipality in south Greenland, a sub-division of the Kujalleq municipality. Towns and settlements Nanortalik area * Nanortalik (Nennortalik) * Aappilattoq * Alluitsup Paa (Sydprøven) * Ammassivik (Sletten) * ...

Narsaq Municipality Narsaq Municipality was a municipality in south Greenland until 31 December 2008. The municipality consisted of Narsaq, and the settlements Qassiarsuk, Igaliku, and Narsarsuaq. Its administrative center was the town of Narsaq. It was incorporated ...

Qaqortoq Municipality Qaqortoq Municipality was a municipality in south Greenland, a sub-division of the Kujalleq municipality. Towns and settlements * Qaqortoq (Julianehåb) * Eqalugaarsuit * Qassimiut * Saarloq Saarloq is a settlement in the Kujalleq municipali ...

In addition to the area of these municipalities, uninhabited parts of the former municipalities of

Paamiut Paamiut, formerly Frederikshåb, is a town in southwestern Greenland in the Sermersooq municipality. Geography Paamiut is located on the coast of Labrador Sea in the southern end of a small estuary called Kuannersooq ("Inlet"). History Pe ...

and

Ammassalik Ammassalik Island ( da, Ammassalik Ø) is an island in the Sermersooq municipality in southeastern Greenland, with an area of .

were added to the new administrative entity. In the case of Paamiut Municipality, it was exclusively a part of the

ice sheet In glaciology, an ice sheet, also known as a continental glacier, is a mass of glacial ice that covers surrounding terrain and is greater than . The only current ice sheets are in Antarctica and Greenland; during the Last Glacial Period at Las ...

including a few

nunatak A nunatak (from Inuit ''nunataq'') is the summit or ridge of a mountain that protrudes from an ice field or glacier that otherwise covers most of the mountain or ridge. They are also called glacial islands. Examples are natural pyramidal peaks. ...

s, while in the case of Ammassalik Municipality, it included the coast from the fjord Kangerlussuatsiaq (in Danish ''Lindenow Fjord'') on the old border with Nanortalik Municipality in the south to north of Timmiarmiut.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms of the municipality depicts a ram's head, symbolising the sheep farming in the area, which has become one of the most important parts of Kujalleq's economy. The uppermost part of the shield contains the sun of the Greenlandic flag. Likewise the choice of colours matches those of the country's flag. The coat of arms was adopted in August 2008.

Geography

Operational Navigation Chart D-16, 4th edition

At of area Kujalleq is the smallest municipality in Greenland by area. Straddling the southernmost end of the island of Greenland, it is bordered by only one municipality,

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 ...

, in the north. The waters of the western coast are that of

Labrador Sea The Labrador Sea (French: ''mer du Labrador'', Danish: ''Labradorhavet'') is an arm of the North Atlantic Ocean between the Labrador Peninsula and Greenland. The sea is flanked by continental shelf, continental shelves to the southwest, northwest, ...

, which meet the open

North Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe and ...

Uummannarsuaq Cape Farewell ( kl, Nunap Isua; da, Kap Farvel) is a headland on the southern shore of Egger Island, Nunap Isua Archipelago, Greenland. As the southernmost point of the country, it is one of the important landmarks of Greenland. Geography Loc ...

, the southern cape. The border on the western coast runs alongside

Alanngorsuaq Fjord Alanngorsuaq Fjord, also known as Coppermine Bay ( da, Kobberminebugt), is a fjord in the Kujalleq municipality in southern Greenland. At the mouth of the fjord the coastline of southwestern Greenland turns to the east towards Qaqortoq. Geograp ...

and on the eastern coast up to Anorituup Kangerlua (Anoritoq) Fjord. The entire municipal area is highly mountainous, with numerous

fjord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Ice ...

s carving deeply into the land. All settlements are located on the western coast, or in fjords ending there.

Politics

Kujalleq's municipal council consists of 15 members, elected every four years.

Municipal council

Administrative divisions

Nanortalik area

Nanortalik Nanortalik (), formerly Nennortalik, is a town in Nanortalik Island, Kujalleq municipality, southern Greenland. With 1,185 inhabitants as of 2020, it is the eleventh-largest town in the country. The name ''Nanortalik'' means "Place of Polar Bear ...

(Nennortalik) * Aappilattoq * Alluitsup Paa (Sydprøven) *

Ammassivik Ammassivik (old spelling: ''Angmagssivik'') is a settlement in the Kujalleq municipality in southern Greenland. The modern name is the Kalaallisut for "where you catch ammassaat (capelin)". Its population was 74 in 2010 and 32 in 2020. The settle ...

(Sletten) *

Narsaq Kujalleq Narsarmijit, formerly Narsaq Kujalleq and Frederiksdal, is a settlement in southern Greenland. It is located in the Kujalleq municipality near Cape Thorvaldsen. Its population was 66 in 2020. There has been a slow but steady pattern of emigration ...

(Narsaq Kujalleq, Frederiksdal) * Tasiusaq *

Qorlortorsuaq Qorlortorsuaq is a village in the Nanortalik district, in the Kujalleq municipality in southern Greenland, located at the site of the largest waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a ...

Narsaq area

Narsaq Narsaq is a town in the Kujalleq municipality in southern Greenland. The name ''Narsaq'' is Kalaallisut for "Plain", referring to the shore of Tunulliarfik Fjord where the town is located. History People have lived in the area for thousands of ...

(Nordprøven) *

Igaliku Igaliku is a settlement in the Kujalleq municipality in southern Greenland. The town was founded as Igaliko in 1783 by the trader and colonial administrator Anders Olsen and Greenlandic wife Tuperna. In 2020, Igaliku had 21 inhabitants. The ...

(Igaliko) *

Narsarsuaq Narsarsuaq (lit. ''Great Plan'';''Facts and History of Narsarsuaq'', Narsarsuad Tourist Information old spelling: ''Narssarssuaq'') is a settlement in the Kujalleq municipality in southern Greenland. It had 123 inhabitants in 2020. There is a thri ...

Qassiarsuk Qassiarsuk is a settlement in the Kujalleq municipality, in southern Greenland. Its population was 39 in 2020. Qassiarsuk is part of the Kujataa World Heritage Site, due to its historical importance as the homestead of Erik the Red and its unique ...

Qaqortoq area

(Julianehåb) *

Eqalugaarsuit Eqalugaarsuit (old spelling: ''Eqalugârssuit'') is a settlement in the Kujalleq municipality in southern Greenland, located southeast of Qaqortoq and northwest of Alluitsup Paa. Its population was 49 in 2020. Until January, 2009, the settlement� ...

Qassimiut Qassimiut (old spellings: ''Qagssimiut'' and ''Kagsimiut'') is a settlement in the Kujalleq municipality in southern Greenland. The settlement was founded in 1835 as a trading station. With a population of 20 in 2020, it is the smallest organized ...

Saarloq Saarloq is a settlement in the Kujalleq municipality in southern Greenland. Its population was 21 in 2020. It is located on a small island with the same name off the Labrador Sea coast, at the mouth of the Qaqortoq Fjord, west of Alluitsup Paa an ...

* Upernaviarsuk

Transportation

The only airport is

Narsarsuaq Airport Narsarsuaq Airport ( kl, Mittarfik Narsarsuaq) is an airport located in Narsarsuaq, a settlement in the Kujalleq municipality in southern Greenland. Along with Kangerlussuaq Airport, it is one of two airports in Greenland capable of serving l ...

. Helicopters and boats go to other settlements.

International relations

Twin Town — Sister City

Kujalleq is twinned with: *

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and approximately northwest ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

References

{{Regions of Denmark Municipalities of Greenland Populated places established in 2009 2009 establishments in Greenland