Qullissat
Qullissat | |
---|---|
![]() An abandoned and now partially destroyed house | |
State | ![]() |
Constituent country | ![]() |
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
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8b/Qllissat_2.jpg/200px-Qllissat_2.jpg)
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
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- ^ Nuussuaq, Saga Map, Tage Schjøtt, 1992
- ^ a b c "Suluk 2010 No.1" (PDF). Air Greenland. Retrieved 15 July 2010.