Qasigiannguit

Photo: Mads Phil – Visit Greenland

THE FORGOTTEN PARADISE

Qasigiannguit is beautifully located on the southeastern part of the Disko Bay and is surrounded by the 450m high mountains behind the town. The town is the second biggest town in Qeqertalik Municipality with 1.071 inhabitants (2021). Qasigiannguit is known for its good weather, and the air is considered as Greenland’s best.

Qasigiannguit is located on the Greenlandic mainland, which creates endless opportunities for hiking, trekking or to go on longer dogsledding trips during the winter.

Facts about Qasigiannguit

The colony Qasigiannguit was established in 1734. In 1763, the former settlement was moved due to storm damages to the current position, which provides more wind protection.
Qasigiannguit means “the place with small harbor seals”.
One of the oldest houses in Greenland is to be found in Qasigiannguit. The oldest European building was built in 1734 and is today used as the town’s museum. In the town’s museum you can find some of Greenland’s most well-preserved ancient finds and existing collections from the Saqqaq culture (around 2000 BC).
The town has a hotel – Hotel Diskobay – and several private homes offering cosy accommodation (see below).
Musk ox, reindeer, polar fox and mountain hares are to be found every year, in the mountains around town.

Art, music and culture

The living village

The living village in Qasigiannguit is a historic revitalization project that works with and conveys the summer everyday life of the 17^th-18^th century in Disko Bay.

The project aims to create a Greenlandic 18^th century village with all that it entails of clothing, housing, kayaks, wifeboats and fishing&hunting equipments. A historical revival offers the modern man a living and credible picture of the living conditions of the ancestors and thus the possibility of keeping the ancient techniques and traditions alive.

The idea of the “Living village” in Qasigiannguit, was developed at the end of 1990s inspired by historical revival projects in Scandinavia with a view to appeasing the everyday life of the population that inhabited the area in the years immediately before the colony was founded in 1734.

The museum in Qasigiannguit is responsible for the development of living village and for the professional foundation for the work with the reproduction of late Thule culture’s everyday life. The material side as well as, for example, suits and household utensils as well as the intangible side such as craft techniques, hunting techniques, games and so on.

The museum collaborates with several museums and researchers with local resource persons and bearers of traditional knowledge as well, as with volunteers.

The dissemination program for living villages is a “hands-on” program which includes both workshop dissemination and outdoor dissemination. The open-air section under “Living village” was formally opened to the public July 26, 2007 the day after the town’s 275^th anniversary. Living village offers unique opportunities for active participation throughout the year; through the winter’s workshop work, courses and workshops with leather work, cutting and sewing, woodwork, as well as play and entertainment, and through the summer’s open workshop activities, outdoor training in cultural techniques and animations in the open air.

In order to achieve an even higher authenticity in the reproductions of the everyday life of the 18^th century, a continued long process of research, trials and experiments is expected in the years to come.

Kulunnguaq Run

Kulunnguaq Run is a trail race held in Qasigiannguit. The race has different distances. The longest route is 24 km, then 12 km, 8 km, 4 km, while the shortest route is 2 km.

The participants are sailed to different starting points depending on the distance. The race was held for the first time back in 2016, where there were only 6 participants. However, the organizers could see a potential for the event and established a close collaboration with the municipality and some associations. Now the event has gradually become a popular event, where people from other towns in Greenland, but also people from other countries come to Qasigiannguit for.

The story behind Kulunnguaq takes place in the 18^th century in Qasigiannguit. A young woman Kulunnguaq becomes a widow and is persecuted by her pagan settlers.

By taking the long-distance route you will follow the exact same route as Kulunnguaq and her child Inequnaat followed during their escape from the settlement Assassakkaq to the newly established colony according to the historical novel “Kulunnguaq” by Otto Rosing.

Souvenir shopping

Traveling is about experiences, memories and sharing them when we return home. For many of us, souvenirs that remind us of a special place on our travels also make their way into our backpacks.

Support local economy

Always try and support local producers, makers and artisans. This way, you are giving back to the community that is supporting you on your travels, you will meet fascinating people and have more interesting stories to tell.

In Qasigiannguit we do not have a standard tourist shop, so make the hunt for local unique craftsman into an adventure and visit the following shops.