Qullissat (old spelling: ''Qutdligssat'')''Nuussuaq'', Saga Map, Tage Schjøtt, 1992 is a former settlement in the

Qeqertalik Qeqertalik (, da, Den Ene med Øerne, lit=The One with Islands) is a municipality of Greenland created in 2018 from four southern regions of the former Qaasuitsup Municipality. Geography Qeqertalik Municipality is flanked in the south by the ...

municipality, located on the north-east coast of

Disko Island Disko Island ( kl, Qeqertarsuaq, da, Diskoøen) is a large island in Baffin Bay, off the west coast of Greenland. It has an area 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 i ...

. It was a coal mining town founded to exploit the national resources of Disko Island. The mines operated for 48 years until 1972, when the economic base of the settlement collapsed, leading to its abandonment.

History

Qullissat was not a traditional

Inuit Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...

settlement, but was founded in 1924 as a coal mining town. By 1966 the mine was producing 40,000 tonnes of coal a year and the town had a population of 1,400, making it the sixth-largest population centre in Greenland."Qullissat" Ilulissat Museum The coal mine attracted a multinational population, with Danes, Swedes, and

British people British people or Britons, also known colloquially as Brits, are the citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown dependencies.: British nationality law governs m ...

working in the mines. In 1960 Nanok Idraetslag were crowned champions of the 1959–60

Greenlandic Football Championship The Greenlandic Football Championship ( kl, Isikkamik Arsaalluni Pissartanngorniunneq, GM, da, Grønlandsmesterskab i fodbold) is the premier men's football competition in Greenland. It was established in 1954 and since 1971, it has been organi ...

. The

Greenland Provincial Council The Greenland Provincial Council ( da, Grønlands Landsråd) was the provincial government of Greenland between 1950, when it was formed from the union of the earlier North and South Greenland Provincial Councils, and 1 May 1979, when it was replac ...

voted to close the mine in 1966 due to falling profits and demand, poor quality coal and a lack of labour force in the

cod Cod is the common name for the demersal fish genus '' Gadus'', belonging to the family Gadidae. Cod is also used as part of the common name for a number of other fish species, and one species that belongs to genus ''Gadus'' is commonly not call ...

fishing industry. Residents were to be moved after a relocation plan was completed. The mine was eventually closed on 4 October 1972, despite the fact that the cod industry had collapsed in the interim. By then 700 residents had already moved, and the remaining 500 were compulsorily relocated.

Kuupik Kleist Jakob Edvard Kuupik Kleist (born 31 March 1958) is a Greenlandic politician who served as the fourth prime minister of Greenland between 2009 and 2013. A member of the Inuit Ataqatigiit party, he was the first Prime Minister not affiliated with S ...

, later

Prime Minister of Greenland The prime minister of Greenland ( kl, Naalakkersuisut siulittaasuat, ; da, Landsstyreformand), officially the premier of Greenland,confirmed In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an affirmation of belief. It involves laying on ...

, before the settlement was abandoned in 1972. The town was sold on 20 October 1972 to an entrepreneur, who demolished the site. The town's church was spared and relocated to nearby Ilulissat. In November 2000 Qullissat was hit by a tsunami caused by a large landslide in Paatuut at the Nuussuaq peninsula. The tsunami reached more than 100 meters inland and would have cost many lives had the town still been inhabited.

Geography

Qulissat was located on the northeastern coast of Disko Island ( kl, Qeqertarsuaq), on the shores of Sullorsuaq Strait, facing

Nuussuaq Peninsula Nuussuaq Peninsula (, old spelling: ''Nûgssuaq'') is a large (180x48 km) peninsula in western Greenland. Geography The waters around the peninsula are that of Baffin Bay. To the south and southwest the peninsula is bounded by Disko Bay, ...

on the other side of the wide strait.

Notable residents

, former Prime Minister of Greenland (2009-2013) * Aka Hoegh, Greenlandic artist *

Makka Kleist Makka Kleist (born 1951) is a Greenlandic actress. After training to be a schoolteacher, she was inspired to become an actress and received training at the Tuukkaq Teater in western Jutland. As she was unable to find work in Denmark, she moved to C ...

(born 1951), actress

References

{{Abandoned sites in Greenland Disko Island Former populated places in Greenland Populated places established in 1924 Populated places disestablished in 1972