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Sisimiut (), formerly known as Holsteinsborg, is the capital and largest city of 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 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 ...
, the second-largest city in Greenland, and the largest Arctic city in North America.The term 'city' is loosely used to describe any populated area in
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 ...
, given that the most populated place is
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 ...
, the capital, with 16,454 inhabitants. The term 'Arctic' is interpreted as strictly the area within 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 ...
.
It is located 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 ...
, on the coast 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 John ...
, approximately north of
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 ...
. ''Sisimiut'' literally means "the residents at the foxholes" ( da, Beboerne ved rævehulerne). The site has been inhabited for the last 4,500 years, first by peoples of the
Saqqaq culture The Saqqaq culture (named after the Saqqaq settlement, the site of many archaeological finds) was a Paleo-Eskimo culture in southern Greenland. Up to this day, no other people seem to have lived in Greenland continually for as long as the Saqqaq ...
, then
Dorset culture The Dorset was a Paleo-Eskimo culture, lasting from to between and , that followed the Pre-Dorset and preceded the Thule people (proto-Inuit) in the North American Arctic. The culture and people are named after Cape Dorset (now Kinngait) in ...
, and then the
Thule people The Thule (, , ) or proto-Inuit were the ancestors of all modern Inuit. They developed in coastal Alaska by the year 1000 and expanded eastward across northern Canada, reaching Greenland by the 13th century. In the process, they replaced people o ...
, whose
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 ...
descendants form the majority of the current population. Artifacts from the early settlement era can be found throughout the region, favored in the past for its plentiful
fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...
, particularly the
marine mammal Marine mammals are aquatic mammals that rely on the ocean and other marine ecosystems for their existence. They include animals such as seals, whales, manatees, sea otters and polar bears. They are an informal group, unified only by their ...
s providing subsistence for the early hunting societies. The population of modern Greenlanders in Sisimiut is a mix of the Inuit and
Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...
peoples, who first settled in the area in the 1720s, under the leadership of the Danish
missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...
,
Hans Egede Hans Poulsen Egede (31 January 1686 – 5 November 1758) was a Dano-Norwegian Lutheran missionary who launched mission efforts to Greenland, which led him to be styled the Apostle of Greenland. He established a successful mission among the Inui ...
. Today, Sisimiut is the largest business centre north of the national capital of
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 ...
and is one of the fastest growing cities in Greenland. Fishing is the principal industry in Sisimiut, although the town has a growing industrial base. KNI and its subsidiary
Pilersuisoq Pilersuisoq is a chain of all-purpose general stores in Greenland, a major division of the state-owned KNI conglomerate. Like its parent company, it is based in Sisimiut (Holsteinsborg), the second-largest town in Greenland. Lars Behrendt is ...
, a state-owned chain of all-purpose general stores in Greenland, have their base in Sisimiut. Architecturally, Sisimiut is a mix of traditional, single-family houses, and communal housing, with apartment blocks raised in the 1960s during a period of town expansion in Greenland. Sisimiut is still expanding, with the area north of the port, on the shore of the small
Kangerluarsunnguaq Bay Kangerluarsunnguaq Bay ( aŋeʁluɑʁsuŋːuɑq̚ da, Ulkebugten) is a bay of the Davis Strait in the Qeqqata municipality on the western coast of Greenland. It is located directly to the north of Sisimiut. Geography The bay branches off Davi ...
reserved for a modern
suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...
-style housing slated for construction in the 2010s. Several professional and general schools are based in Sisimiut, providing education to the inhabitants of the city and to those from smaller settlements in the region. The new Taseralik Culture Centre is the second cultural centre to be established in Greenland, after Katuaq in Nuuk. The city has its own bus line, and is the northernmost year-round
ice-free port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ha ...
in the country, a shipping base for western and northwestern Greenland. Supply ships head from the commercial port towards smaller settlements in more remote regions of
Uummannaq Fjord Uummannaq Fjord is a large fjord system in the northern part of western Greenland, the largest after Kangertittivaq fjord in eastern Greenland. It has a roughly south-east to west-north-west orientation, emptying into the Baffin Bay in the nor ...
,
Upernavik Archipelago Upernavik Archipelago is a vast coastal archipelago in the Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland, off the shores of northeastern Baffin Bay. The archipelago extends from the northwestern coast of Sigguup Nunaa peninsula in the south at ...
, and as far as
Qaanaaq Qaanaaq (), formerly known as Thule or New Thule, is the main town in the northern part of the Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. It is one of the northernmost cities and towns, northernmost towns in the world. The inhabitants of ...
in northern Greenland.
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 ...
, the town airport is served 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 ch ...
, providing connections to other towns on the western coast of Greenland, and through
Kangerlussuaq Airport Kangerlussuaq Airport ( kl, Mittarfik Kangerlussuaq, da, Søndre Strømfjord Lufthavn) is an airport in Kangerlussuaq, a settlement in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland. Alongside Narsarsuaq Airport, it is one of only two ...
, to Europe.


History


Prehistory


Saqqaq culture

Sisimiut has been a settlement site for around 4,500 years, with the people of the
Saqqaq culture The Saqqaq culture (named after the Saqqaq settlement, the site of many archaeological finds) was a Paleo-Eskimo culture in southern Greenland. Up to this day, no other people seem to have lived in Greenland continually for as long as the Saqqaq ...
arriving from
Arctic Canada Northern Canada, colloquially the North or the Territories, is the vast northernmost region of Canada variously defined by geography and politics. Politically, the term refers to the three territories of Canada: Yukon, Northwest Territories and ...
during the first wave of immigration, occupying numerous sites on the coast of western Greenland. At that time, the shoreline was up to several dozen meters above the present line, gradually decreasing in time due to
post-glacial rebound Post-glacial rebound (also called isostatic rebound or crustal rebound) is the rise of land masses after the removal of the huge weight of ice sheets during the last glacial period, which had caused isostatic depression. Post-glacial rebound ...
. The Saqqaq remained in western Greenland for nearly two millennia. Unlike the following waves of migrants in the millennium following their disappearance, the Saqqaq left behind a substantial number of artifacts, with plentiful archeological finds on the coast of Davis Strait, from Disko Bay ( kl, Qeqertarsuup Tunua) in the north—to the coast 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, ...
near
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 ...
in the south. Research at the Asummiut excavation site near the airport has uncovered the changing settlement pattern, exhibiting transition from the single-family dwellings to tiny villages of several families. The types of dwelling varied from tent rings made of the hides of hunted
mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...
s, to stone
hearth A hearth () is the place in a home where a fire is or was traditionally kept for home heating and for cooking, usually constituted by at least a horizontal hearthstone and often enclosed to varying degrees by any combination of reredos (a lo ...
s, with no evidence of communal living in larger structures. In contrast, there is evidence for
reindeer Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...
hunting as a coordinated effort of either villagers or groups of more loosely related individuals, with gathering places in proximity of the hunting grounds being found. Despite recent advances in DNA research based on hair samples from the ancient Saqqaq migrants (which gives insight into their origin), the reason for the decline and subsequent disappearance of the culture are not yet known.


Dorset culture

After several hundred years of no permanent habitation, the second wave of migration arrived from Canada, bringing the Dorset people to western Greenland. The first wave of immigrants, known as Dorset I, arrived around 500
BCE Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the or ...
, inhabiting the region for the next 700 years. The early Dorset people were followed later by the Dorset II people, although no artifacts have been discovered from the later era around Sisimiut, and few artifacts from the era of Dorset I have been uncovered in archaeological sites, with the finds often limited to
harpoon A harpoon is a long spear-like instrument and tool used in fishing, whaling, sealing, and other marine hunting to catch and injure large fish or marine mammals such as seals and whales. It accomplishes this task by impaling the target animal ...
heads and numerous animal bones. The largest number of Dorset culture artifacts can be found further north in the Disko Bay region, while the further to the south, the poorer the finds, disappearing completely on the coast of Labrador Sea in southwestern Greenland.


Thule people

The
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 ...
of the
Thule culture The Thule (, , ) or proto-Inuit were the ancestors of all modern Inuit. They developed in coastal Alaska by the year 1000 and expanded eastward across northern Canada, reaching Greenland by the 13th century. In the process, they replaced people o ...
—whose descendants form the majority of the current population—arrived nearly a thousand years ago, with the first arrivals dated to approximately 13th and 14th century. The Thule people were more technologically advanced than their Dorset predecessors, although they still relied on
subsistence A subsistence economy is an economy directed to basic subsistence (the provision of food, clothing, shelter) rather than to the market. Henceforth, "subsistence" is understood as supporting oneself at a minimum level. Often, the subsistence econo ...
hunting, with
walrus The walrus (''Odobenus rosmarus'') is a large flippered marine mammal with a discontinuous distribution about the North Pole in the Arctic Ocean and subarctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. The walrus is the only living species in the fami ...
es, reindeer, and particularly the
fur seal Fur seals are any of nine species of pinnipeds belonging to the subfamily Arctocephalinae in the family '' Otariidae''. They are much more closely related to sea lions than true seals, and share with them external ears (pinnae), relatively l ...
s constituting the base of the economy in the early period. The shoreline was still at a higher altitude than today, with the Sisimiut valley east of the
Kangerluarsunnguaq Bay Kangerluarsunnguaq Bay ( aŋeʁluɑʁsuŋːuɑq̚ da, Ulkebugten) is a bay of the Davis Strait in the Qeqqata municipality on the western coast of Greenland. It is located directly to the north of Sisimiut. Geography The bay branches off Davi ...
, partially under sea. Many artifacts and graves from the several centuries of permanent settlement remain scattered in the region. Rich in
fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...
, the coastal region from Sisimiut to
Kangaamiut Kangaamiut,"Maniitsoq", Saga Map, Tage Schjøtt, 1992. formerly known as Gammel Sukkertoppen, is a settlement with a population of 293 (2020) in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland. Geography Kangaamiut is located on an islan ...
was particularly attractive for migrants, and due to a large number of historical artifacts it is currently listed as a candidate for the
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
, with the application received in 2003.


Colonial era

There are no signs of Norse settlement in the region. At the time of
Hans Egede Hans Poulsen Egede (31 January 1686 – 5 November 1758) was a Dano-Norwegian Lutheran missionary who launched mission efforts to Greenland, which led him to be styled the Apostle of Greenland. He established a successful mission among the Inui ...
's establishment of the first Danish colonies,
Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...
whalers dominated the area and swiftly burnt down his Bergen Company whaling station on Nipisat Island, approximately to the north of the present-day town. It was not until
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 ...
was granted a full monopoly on the Greenlandic trade and permitted to act as an agent of the
Danish navy The Royal Danish Navy ( da, Søværnet) is the sea-based branch of the Danish Defence force. The RDN is mainly responsible for maritime defence and maintaining the sovereignty of Danish territorial waters (incl. Faroe Islands and Greenland). Oth ...
that the Dutch were finally removed in a series of battles in 1738 and 1739.Marquardt, Ole.
Change and Continuity in Denmark's Greenland Policy
in ''The Oldenburg Monarchy: An Underestimated Empire?''. Verlag Ludwig (Kiel), 2006.
The present town was established in 1764 by the
General Trade Company The General Trade Company ( da, Det almindelige Handelskompagni) was a Dano-Norwegian trading company charged with administering the realm's settlements and trade in Greenland. The company existed from 1747 to 1774 and managed the government of Gre ...
as the trading post of Holsteinsborg ("Fort Holstein"), named for the first chairman of the Danish
College of Missions The College of Missions ( da, Missionskollegiet; la, Collegium de cursu Evangelii promovendo) or Royal Mission College (') was a Dano-Norwegian association based in Copenhagen which funded and directed Protestant missions under royal patronage. A ...
in Copenhagen which underwrote and directed the missionary work in the colony.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"
At the time of its founding, the Kalaallisut name of the place was Amerlok, after its fjord. The colonists formally established several villages in the region, of which only two remain to this day:
Itilleq Itilleq (old spelling: ''Itivdleq'') is a settlement in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland. It is located on a small island around 1 km from the mainland, 45 km south of Sisimiut and 2 km north of the Arctic Circ ...
and
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.
. Under the
Royal Greenland Trading Department The Royal Greenland Trading Department ( da, Den Kongelige Grønlandske Handel, KGH) was a Danish state enterprise charged with administering the realm's settlements and trade in Greenland. The company managed the government of Greenland from 177 ...
, Holsteinsborg was a centre of the trade in reindeer skins.Kane, Elisha Kent.
Arctic Explorations: The Second Grinnell Expedition
'. 1856.
Several 18th-century buildings still stand in Sisimiut, among them the 1725 Gammelhuset ("Old House") and the 1775 Bethel-kirken ("Bethel Church") or Blå Kirke ("Blue Church"), the oldest surviving church in Greenland. The buildings were moved from the former site of the settlement at Ukiivik (Holsteinsborg) together with the rest of the settlement. The new church on the rocky pedestal was built in 1926, further extended in 1984. The entrance to the yard with the old church and other protected historical buildings is decorated with a unique gate made of
whale Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic placental marine mammals. As an informal and colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea, i.e. all cetaceans apart from dolphins and ...
jawbone. In 1801, a
smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...
epidemic decimated the population of Sisimiut and other coastal settlements, although the population growth quickly resumed due to plentiful marine life on the coast.


20th and 21st centuries

The 20th century saw
industrialization Industrialisation ( alternatively spelled industrialization) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive re-organisation of an econo ...
, through the construction of a shipping port, and a
fish processing The term fish processing refers to the processes associated with fish and fish products between the time fish are caught or harvested, and the time the final product is delivered to the customer. Although the term refers specifically to fish, in ...
factory of
Royal Greenland Royal Greenland A/S is a fishing company in Greenland, spun off from Kalaallit Niuerfiat in 1990 but still wholly owned by the Government of Greenland. The company operates in a number of towns and settlements in Greenland, with 20 fish processi ...
in 1924, the first such factory in Greenland. Fishing remains the primary occupation of Sisimiut inhabitants, with the town becoming the leading centre of shrimping and shrimp processing. Until 2008 Sisimiut had been the administrative centre of Sisimiut Municipality, which was then incorporated into the new
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 on 1 January 2009, with Sisimiut retaining its status as the administrative centre of the new unit, consisting also of the former Maniitsoq Municipality and the previously unincorporated area of
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 ...
. The municipal council, seated in the town hall and headed by Mayor
Hermann Berthelsen Hermann Berthelsen (born 2 March 1956) is a Greenlandic politician and affiliated with the Siumut party. As of July 2010, Berthelsen is the mayor of Sisimiut, a town in central-western Greenland, and the administrative center of the Qeqqata Q ...
, consists of 13 members, including the mayor and his deputies, and representatives of the four primary political parties of Greenland:
Siumut Siumut (, ) is a political party in Greenland in the social democratic tradition. Since the establishment of home rule in 1979, it has been the dominant party in Greenland. Siumut is led by Erik Jensen, who beat the then-incumbent Prime Ministe ...
,
Atassut Atassut ( en, Cohesion / Link / Togetherness / Solidarity; also referred to as Feeling of Community) is a liberal-conservative and unionist political party in Greenland. Founded on 29 April 1978, Atassut is an established partner of the Liber ...
, Democrats and
Inuit Ataqatigiit Inuit Ataqatigiit (, , da, Folkets Samfund) is a democratic socialist, separatist political party in Greenland that aims to make Greenland an independent state. The party, founded as a political organisation in 1976, was born out of the increas ...
.


Geography

Sisimiut is located approximately north of Nuuk, and 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 eastern 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 John ...
, perched on a series of rocky outcrops at the western end of a large peninsula bounded from the north by the Kangerluarsuk Tulleq fjord and from the south by the wide
Amerloq Fjord Amerloq Fjord is a long fjord in the Qeqqata municipality in western Greenland. The fjord empties into the Davis Strait just south of Sisimiut, whose former Inuit name was also "Amerloq". History The Amerloq Fjord then known as Rammel's Fjord ...
.


Kangerluarsunnguaq Bay

Immediately to the north of Sisimiut a small inlet of Davis Strait, the Kangerluarsunnguaq Bay ( da, Ulkebugten), separates the town from the
Palasip Qaqqaa Palasip Qaqqaa ( da, Præstefjeldet) is a mountain in the Qeqqata municipality in western Greenland. It is located on the mainland of Greenland on the coast of Davis Strait, immediately to the north of Sisimiut Airport. The mountain massif is s ...
massif in the north, at the southern foot of which the town airport is located. The high twin summit commands a wide view in all directions, with the majority of the coast of the Qeqqata municipality visible in good conditions. The bay is navigable in its entirety, protected from the open sea by a series of skerries in the west. Both the local port and the local sailing harbor are located on the southern shore of the bay. The road to the airport passes through the bridge over the Kangerluarsunnguaq Bay. Halfway between the town and the airport there is a small beach of dark sand. The beach, as well as the skerries off the coast, are very popular in the summer.


Alanngorsuaq

To the east, a wide valley extends into the interior of the peninsula, bounded from the north by the conjoint massif of Palasip Qaqqaa and Majoriaq, dissected by the Qerrortusup Majoriaa valley alongside which leads the Polar Route from Sisimiut to Kangerlussuaq. Depending on variants, the route is between and long. In the middle of the valley towers a standalone Alanngorsuaq mountain (), surrounded by several lakes, one of which serves Sisimiut town as a water
reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...
. The entire area of the valley is another popular picnic destination, with easy access to the water reservoirs by a gravel road in the middle part of the valley. The reservoirs in the valley provide the town waterworks with of water, with the potential for annually.


Nasaasaaq

To the southeast, the valley is bounded by the Nasaasaaq massif with several distinct summits, the highest of which is . The Nasaasaaq ridge has several summits. The main summit is the most prominent, rising over the remainder of the ridge in a tall cone at . The ridge terminates in a trabant overlooking Sisimiut. To the east the ridge gradually falls to nearly , before turning east-north-east towards the Aappilattorsuaq massif. The southern wall of Nasaasaaq falls directly to Amerloq Fjord. The northern wall is not a uniform surface, dissected by ledges, dihedrals, and ramps. The main access route to the summit leads through one of the ramps to the saddle between the main summit and its western trabant. The passage on the top cone is secured by ropes for unprepared tourists. One of the variants of the Polar Route follows the coast of Amerloq Fjord at the base of the southern wall of Nasaasaaq. The main summit is visited for its long-range view of the coast, although more limited to the north than that of Palasip Qaqqaa to the north of the town airport. An alternative route to the top of interest to mountaineers leads through the hard to find low pass to the east of the main summit, and from there directly on the summit cone ridge.


Climate

Sisimiut has a polar tundra climate (
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
''ET''). The average high temperature is or lower throughout the year. The coldest months on average are February and March which have average highs of and respectively. The warmest months are July and August which have average highs of and respectively and are the only months of the year in which the average lows are above , both at . Precipitation is very low in Sisimiut, with the greatest amount of rainfall occurring in the second half of the year, between July and December, with August and September being the wettest months. The sea winds from Davis Strait moderate the climate, with the area known for its fogs. Sisimiut has midnight sun from 3 June to 9 July, but there is no true polar night in winter time.


Demographics


Population

With 5,582 inhabitants in 2020, Sisimiut is one of the fastest-growing towns in Greenland,
Statistics Greenland Statistics Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaanni Naatsorsueqqissaartarfik, da, Grønlands Statistik) is a central statistical organization in Greenland, operating under the auspices of the Government of Greenland, working in cooperation with the Mi ...

Population in localities
/ref> with migrants from the smaller settlements reinforcing the trend. Apart from Kangerlussuaq, it is the only settlement in the Qeqqata municipality exhibiting stable growth patterns over the last two decades. The gender imbalance is evident in Sisimiut, with men consistently outnumbering women during the last two decades, running from 20% in 1991, to 13% in 2000 and 2010. Nearly 10% of the town's inhabitants in 2010 were born outside Greenland, a decline from 16.5% in 1990 and 11.8% in 2000.


Housing

Most families in Sisimiut live in single-family houses, most often the traditional colorful wooden
prefabricated home Prefabricated homes, often referred to as prefab homes or simply prefabs, are specialist dwelling types of prefabricated building, which are manufactured off-site in advance, usually in standard sections that can be easily shipped and assembled. ...
s shipped from Denmark, and almost always raised or supported by a concrete foundation due to permafrost. In the 1960s, Danish authorities began construction of communal apartment blocks in most towns in Greenland, including Sisimiut. Unlike in Nuuk, the modern environmentally friendly construction technologies have not yet arrived to Sisimiut, and in 2010 the existing communal-block district remained in a state of partial disrepair. The Qeqqata municipality however is planning the town expansion in the 2010s, with the area north of the Kangerluarsunnguaq Bay reserved for real estate. The new neighborhood will bear the name Akia.


Economy and infrastructure


Industry and services

Fishing is the principal industry in Sisimiut, with harvested stocks of shrimps,
salmon Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...
,
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 ...
and
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 ...
. The Royal Greenland fish processing plant at the port is the largest within Greenland and is amongst the most modern shrimp-shelling factories in the world. In 2008, supplied by 8 boats and the factory trawlers, the plant processed an annual amount of 20,180 tons of shrimp, around 1,680 tons per month. This was roughly constant throughout the year, although when fish catches were larger the fish was frozen. The plant eventually sold around 6,019 tonnes of shrimp. Hunting is also important to some of the local livelihoods, mainly
seals Seals may refer to: * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impress an emblem, used as a means of a ...
,
walrus The walrus (''Odobenus rosmarus'') is a large flippered marine mammal with a discontinuous distribution about the North Pole in the Arctic Ocean and subarctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. The walrus is the only living species in the fami ...
,
beluga whale The beluga whale () (''Delphinapterus leucas'') is an Arctic and sub-Arctic cetacean. It is one of two members of the family Monodontidae, along with the narwhal, and the only member of the genus ''Delphinapterus''. It is also known as the whi ...
, narwhal,
reindeer Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...
and
muskox The muskox (''Ovibos moschatus'', in Latin "musky sheep-ox"), also spelled musk ox and musk-ox, plural muskoxen or musk oxen (in iu, ᐅᒥᖕᒪᒃ, umingmak; in Woods Cree: ), is a hoofed mammal of the family Bovidae. Native to the Arctic, ...
en. KNI and its subsidiary
Pilersuisoq Pilersuisoq is a chain of all-purpose general stores in Greenland, a major division of the state-owned KNI conglomerate. Like its parent company, it is based in Sisimiut (Holsteinsborg), the second-largest town in Greenland. Lars Behrendt is ...
, a state-owned chain of all-purpose general stores in Greenland, are based in Sisimiut. The Pilersuisoq chain operates in all small settlements in the country, as well as smaller towns which are not covered by
supermarket A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earli ...
chains. A range of shops operate in Sisimiut, from chain supermarkets of
Pisiffik Pisiffik A/S is a chain of Greenlandic stores. The company is the largest privately owned commercial company in Greenland, and is a subsidiary jointly owned by NorgesGruppen, the Norwegian grocery wholesaling group, the Danish investment company K ...
and Brugsen to independent outlets, also serving supplies to the smaller settlements in the region. ''Polaroil'', a
liquid fuel Liquid fuels are combustible or energy-generating molecules that can be harnessed to create mechanical energy, usually producing kinetic energy; they also must take the shape of their container. It is the fumes of liquid fuels that are flammable ...
distribution company, is headquartered in Sisimiut. It employs 70 staff and operates 70 stations in Greenland. The headquarters were moved from Maniitsoq to Sisimiut in the late 2000s. In 2010 KNI announced plans to also move the operational base of Polaroil from Maniitsoq to Sisimiut, causing protests in the former community already experiencing depopulation. Other facilities include two banks, a library, a
Post Greenland Tusass A/S, doing business as Tusass (formerly Greenland Technical Organization and Tele-Post), is a Greenlandic postal and telecommunications company dating back to 1879. Tusass is the largest telecommunications company in Greenland. The company ...
office and a small hospital/health centre with 19 beds. There are advanced plans for the
Alcoa Alcoa Corporation (an acronym for Aluminum Company of America) is a Pittsburgh-based industrial corporation. It is the world's eighth-largest producer of aluminum. Alcoa conducts operations in 10 countries. Alcoa is a major producer of primary ...
aluminium smelting Aluminium smelting is the process of extracting aluminium from its oxide, alumina, generally by the Hall-Héroult process. Alumina is extracted from the ore bauxite by means of the Bayer process at an alumina refinery. This is an electrolyti ...
plant.
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 are ...
, the second-largest town in the municipality, is another proposed location alongside Sisimiut. The plant would provide employment for 600–700 people, or more than 10% of the population. As it is a vital decision for the town, wide public consultations were carried out in 2008–2010 by both the town authorities and the Government of Greenland in order to address potential environmental and social concerns. The Sisimiut Hydro Power Plant is located north of the town. The plant has two turbines providing 15
megawatts The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wat ...
of power and the electricity from the plant is transferred to Sisimiut by a long high voltage line. Although rainfall is low, Sismiut has abundant natural supplies of fresh, drinkable surface water, collected from a reservoir under Alanngorsuaq. Water is also pumped to the waterworks from another lake around 2.5 kilometers away in the mountains. The water mains are preinsulated and electrically heated to supply the residents during the winter months. The water supply network is capable of producing some 882,000 cubic meters of water per year; two water-supplying lakes by the town have a combined annual minimum capacity of more than 7.2 million cubic meters.


Tourism

Tourist facilities in Sisimiut include several youth hostels and hotels, such as Hotel Sisimiut with ''Restaurant Nasaasaaq'', and Seaman's Home, and a conference centre. The other restaurant of note is the Misigisaq Restaurant, located at the harbor. It is the only
Chinese restaurant A Chinese restaurant is an establishment that serves a Chinese cuisine. Most of them are in the Cantonese cuisine, Cantonese style, due to the history of the Overseas Chinese, Chinese diaspora and adapted to local taste preferences, as in t ...
in the country and it uses Greenlandic ingredients cooked in the Chinese style. The town has a heated open-air swimming pool, which is supported on stilts so that the heat does not melt the permafrost. Several camping sites are located in Sisimiut valley and near the Kangerluarsunnguaq bay. During winter, a ski lift operates at the foot of the Alanngorsuaq mountain, at the base of the northern slopes of Nasaasaaq. Tourism is becoming increasingly important, with several outfitter companies based in town. Year-round operations offered include
dogsledding A dog sled or dog sleigh is a sled pulled by one or more sled dogs used to travel over ice and through snow. Numerous types of sleds are used, depending on their function. They can be used for dog sled racing. Traditionally in Greenland and the e ...
,
heliskiing Heli-skiing is off-trail, downhill skiing or snowboarding where the skier reaches the top of the mountain by helicopter, instead of a ski lift. History In the late 1950s, helicopters were used in Alaska and Europe to access remote terrain. The ...
, guided hiking, mountaineering, kayaking, and boating. The tough, long ''Arctic Circle Race'' takes place each winter, with the trail partially overlapping with the ''Polar Route'' from Sisimiut to Kangerlussuaq. The race was inaugurated in 1998, since then becoming an international competition.


Education and culture

The
Knud Rasmussen Knud Johan Victor Rasmussen (; 7 June 1879 – 21 December 1933) was a Greenlandic–Danish polar explorer and anthropologist. He has been called the "father of Eskimology" (now often known as Inuit Studies or Greenlandic and Arctic Studie ...
High School (''Knud Rasmussenip Højskolia''), founded in 1962, is located on the eastern outskirts of the town, west of the old heliport site. Apart from the traditional curriculum, it provides specialized courses in Greenland history and culture including skin preparation and ski instruction. The school is also notable for its special unit, the ''Women's High School'' ( kl, Arnat ilinniarfiat) added in 1977, and focusing on traditional arts. During summer, the school building is used as a hostel. In autumn 2002, the school was responsible for erecting a series of stone sculptures around Sisimiut: near the airport, in the municipal building, at the Gertrud Rask Minde children's home, at Arnat Ilinniarfiat and around the school itself. The other educational centres in Sisimiut are: ''Sanaartornermik Ilinniarfik'', the construction engineering school with capacity for 200 students, the Arctic Technology Centre; ''Piareersarfik'', the vocational institution for the service industry professionals, and ''Oqaatsinik Pikkorissarfik'', a foreign language school.


Sisimiut Museum

Located in a historical building near the harbor, the Sisimiut Museum specializes in Greenlandic trade, industry and shipping, with artifacts based on ten years of archaeological research and excavations of the ancient Saqqaq culture settlements near the town, offering an insight into the culture of the region of 4,000 years ago. The museum also hosts a collection of tools and domestic items collected during 1902–22, an inventory from the Old Church with the original altarpiece dated to approximately 1650, and paintings from the 1790s. The peat house reconstruction of an early 20th-century Greenlandic residence with domestic furniture is part of an outdoor exhibition. The exhibition includes the remains of a kayak from the 18th century and the Poul Madsen collection, a collection of handcraft, art, house items and ethnographic objects compiled over fifty years. The Greenlandic stone exhibition is housed in the ''Bygge og Anlægsskolen'' building.


Arts and crafts

The modern Taseralik Culture Centre ( kl, Taseralik Kulturikkut) is located in the eastern part of Sisimiut, on the shore of the Nalunnguarfik lake. The centre often hosts traveling theatre troupes, as well as concerts, from classical to folk music. The Sisimiut Culture Day on 21 November is also celebrated at Taseralik. Greenlandic handicrafts, created in a workshop located in an old warehouse on the old harbor, are sold in the ''Greenland Travel Incoming's Arts n' Craft'', and in several small shops along the main street. Greenland stones and sealskin products are created in the Natseq and Panigiit workshops.


Transport


Air

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 ...
is located to the northwest of the town, at the mouth of the Kangerluarsunnguaq Bay. Before the airport was opened in the 1990s, Sisimiut had been served by the now-closed heliport, located on the eastern outskirts of the town, in the Sisimiut valley. The airport has a short, runway suitable only for
STOL A short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft is a conventional fixed-wing aircraft that has short runway requirements for takeoff and landing. Many STOL-designed aircraft also feature various arrangements for use on airstrips with harsh conditio ...
airplanes. Travel outside of Greenland is routed with a change of planes at
Kangerlussuaq Airport Kangerlussuaq Airport ( kl, Mittarfik Kangerlussuaq, da, Søndre Strømfjord Lufthavn) is an airport in Kangerlussuaq, a settlement in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland. Alongside Narsarsuaq Airport, it is one of only two ...
.
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 ch ...
operates scheduled services to Nuuk,
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 are ...
, and Ilulissat. Taxis as well as an infrequent town bus service connect the airport with the centre of Sisimiut.


Sea

For most of the year, Sisimiut is served twice-weekly by coastal ferries of
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 ...
which link the communities of the western coast. There is also a weekly
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 ...
ferry to
Itilleq Itilleq (old spelling: ''Itivdleq'') is a settlement in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland. It is located on a small island around 1 km from the mainland, 45 km south of Sisimiut and 2 km north of the Arctic Circ ...
and
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.
. The port in Sisimiut is the northernmost year-round ice-free port in Greenland, serving as the country's primary maritime base north of Nuuk. Supply ships from the port head north, serving the entire coast, from the
Uummannaq Fjord Uummannaq Fjord is a large fjord system in the northern part of western Greenland, the largest after Kangertittivaq fjord in eastern Greenland. It has a roughly south-east to west-north-west orientation, emptying into the Baffin Bay in the nor ...
region, through
Upernavik Archipelago Upernavik Archipelago is a vast coastal archipelago in the Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland, off the shores of northeastern Baffin Bay. The archipelago extends from the northwestern coast of Sigguup Nunaa peninsula in the south at ...
, to
Qaanaaq Qaanaaq (), formerly known as Thule or New Thule, is the main town in the northern part of the Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. It is one of the northernmost cities and towns, northernmost towns in the world. The inhabitants of ...
in the far north. ''M/S Akamalik'', one of the largest ships in the fleet of
Royal Greenland Royal Greenland A/S is a fishing company in Greenland, spun off from Kalaallit Niuerfiat in 1990 but still wholly owned by the Government of Greenland. The company operates in a number of towns and settlements in Greenland, with 20 fish processi ...
, is based in Sisimiut. Home to the first shipyard of Greenland dating from 1931, the port also handles more than 50 cruise liners per year. The local kayak club operates at the bay harbor east of the port.


Ground

Roads in Sisimiut, including the road to the airport, are surfaced, but there is no proper road linking Sisimiut to any other settlement, like in all of Greenland. The town has its own bus network. In winter dog sled routes are used to link to settlements further north.
Snowmobile A snowmobile, also known as a Ski-Doo, snowmachine, sled, motor sled, motor sledge, skimobile, or snow scooter, is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. It is designed to be operated on snow and ice and does not ...
s are, as a more modern approach, also used. Transport within a town is usually done by foot, although both private cars and the city bus – which drives loops through town – are popular. In the 2000s construction of the road to Kangerlussuaq has been discussed for several years. The road would be the first of its kind in Greenland, connecting two far-away settlements, and reducing the need for passenger and freight exchange at Kangerlussuaq Airport, the Air Greenland hub. The cost of around €40 for a proper paved road prevented construction, but instead a decision was made to build a very simple gravel road for terrain adapted vehicles. The road was in construction along the route during 2021 and was finished all the way during 2022, at a cost of 25 million DKK (€3).


Twin towns

Sisimiut is twinned with: * –
Albertslund Municipality Albertslund Municipality ( da, Albertslund Kommune) is a municipality in Region Hovedstaden on the island of Zealand in eastern Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 23,04 km2, and has a population of 27,780 (1 April 2014). Its mayor ...
,
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 ...
* –
Klaksvík Klaksvík is the second largest town of the Faroe Islands behind Tórshavn. The town is located on Borðoy, which is one of the northernmost islands (the Norðoyar). It is the administrative centre of Klaksvík municipality. History The first ...
,
Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...
Sisimiut has friendship links with: * –
Whitstable Whitstable () is a town on the north coast of Kent adjoining the convergence of the Swale Estuary and the Greater Thames Estuary in southeastern England, north of Canterbury and west of Herne Bay. The 2011 Census reported a population of ...
,
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...


Notes


References

{{Authority control Populated places in Greenland Cities and towns in Greenland Populated places of Arctic Greenland