Qullissat

Qullissat
Qullissat
	An abandoned and now partially destroyed house
State	Kingdom of Denmark
Constituent country	Greenland
Municipality	Qaasuitsup
Founded	1924
Abandoned	1972
Time zone	UTC-03

Qullissat (old spelling: Qutdligssat)^[1] is a former settlement in the Qaasuitsup municipality in western Greenland. 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

Qulissat originally was not a traditional Inuit settlement. It was founded in 1924 as a coal mining town, and in its heyday had 1,200 inhabitants.^[2] The coal mine attracted a multinational population, with Danes, Swedes, and British people working in the mines.^[2]

Kuupik Kleist, the Prime Minister of Greenland, was born in Qullissat, and was the last person to be confirmed, before the settlement was abandoned in 1972.^[2]

Geography

Qulissat was located on the northeastern coast of Disko Island (Greenlandic: Qeqertarsuaq), on the shores of Sullorsuaq Strait, facing Nuussuaq Peninsula on the other side of the 20 km (12 mi) wide strait.

Former notable residents

Kuupik Kleist, the Prime Minister of Greenland
Aka Hoegh, Greenlandic artist

References

^ Nuussuaq, Saga Map, Tage Schjøtt, 1992
^ ^a ^b ^c "Suluk 2010 No.1" (PDF). Air Greenland. Retrieved 15 July 2010.

[1] Nuussuaq, Saga Map, Tage Schjøtt, 1992

[suluk-2] "Suluk 2010 No.1" (PDF). Air Greenland. Retrieved 15 July 2010.

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