The coat of arms of Nuuk is a design of mostly blue and white, with a red building in the center known as the "red siminar", the teachers' training college 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 ...

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 ...

, and a yellow paddle floating in the water in front of it. There are three sets of white waves in front of the paddle, and Mt. Sermitsiaq in the background. The coat of arms was designed by Ejner Heilmann and Sven Tito Achmen. The design was copyrighted in 1986.Flags of the World: Nuuk
/ref>Heraldry of the World: Nuuk
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Symbolism

Mt. Sermitsiaq, the mountain in the background, is the civic symbol of Nuuk. The red siminar, with gold windows and a

weathercock A wind vane, weather vane, or weathercock is an instrument used for showing the direction of the wind. It is typically used as an architectural ornament to the highest point of a building. The word ''vane'' comes from the Old English word , m ...

, represents education and culture, while the yellow paddle, also known as the "kayak paddle", symbolizes the way of life of the indigenous peoples of

, hunters of fish and other sea creatures; most importantly, it also symbolizes that Nuuk is the true power of Greenland. The blue and white waves, which are collected in three sets, growing larger as they get to the red siminar, represent two different things: the blue waves represent the sea

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, Förden and East Jutland Fjorde, Germany, ...

near Nuuk, and the white waves represent the sea ice.

Flag

The coat of arms, against a plain white background, is also used on Nuuk's flag.

References

1986 establishments in Greenland Nuuk, Coat of Arms Culture in Nuuk History of Nuuk

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