Kangeq or Kangek (

Kalaallisut Kalaallisut may refer to: * Greenlandic language * West Greenlandic West Greenlandic ( da, vestgrønlandsk), also known as Kalaallisut, is the primary language of Greenland and constitutes the Greenlandic language, spoken by the vast majority of ...

: "Promontory") is a former settlement in the

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 ...

municipality in southwestern

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 the same island that formed the first Danish colony on Greenland between 1721 and 1728.

History

As a coastal settlement, Kangeq was positioned on the migration route of the ancient

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 ...

peoples. Archeological finds from the

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 N ...

era have been found near Kangeq. The Dorset people had vanished from the Nuuk region prior to 1000 CE. The island of Kangeq, dubbed Håbets Ø ("Island of Hope"), formed the site 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 first settlement in Greenland after his landing on July 3, 1721. The settlement was relocated to the mainland by Major

Claus Paarss Major Claus Enevold Paarss (18 February 1683 – 26 May 1762) was a Danish military officer and official. Retired from service,Marquardt, Ole"Change and Continuity in Denmark's Greenland Policy"in ''The Oldenburg Monarchy: An Underestimated Empi ...

in 1728.

In the mid-19th century, it was also home to the artist

Aron of Kangeq Aron of Kangeq (born in Kangeq, South Greenland on April 9, 1822; died March 12, 1869) was a Greenlandic Inuit Greenlanders ( kl, Kalaallit / Tunumiit / Inughuit; da, Grønlændere) are people identified with Greenland or the indigenous peo ...

(1822-1869), a Greenland Inuit hunter, painter, and

oral historian Oral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. These interviews are conducted with people wh ...

. In 1854, Kangeq became an official trading station, and an official residence was built for the assistant representing the Royal Greenland Trade Department. Today the ruins of Kangeq are sometimes visited by historically oriented tourists. In 2009, the old houses of Kangeq were used as a backdrop for the ''

Eksperimentet ''Eksperimentet'' ( en, The Experiment) is a 2010 Danish drama film written and directed by Louise Friedberg, and starring Ellen Hillingsø. The film premiered on 28 August 2010 in the Katuaq Culture Centre in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland. The ...

'' film, with the settlement emulating the look of Nuuk in 1952.

Geography

Kangeq was located in an island at the mouth of the

Nuup Kangerlua Nuup Kangerlua is a long fjord in the Sermersooq municipalities of Greenland, municipality in southwestern Greenland. It was formerly known by its colonial name as Godthaab Fjord ( da, Godthåbsfjorden), Gilbert Sound and Baal's River.Nicoll, Ja ...

fjord, on 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, ...

, approximately west-south-west 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 ...

, the capital of Greenland.

Former notable residents

(1822-1869), painter and oral historian

References

{{Abandoned sites in Greenland Former populated places in Greenland Ghost towns in Greenland Labrador Sea