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Qullissat

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Qullissat
A house in 2008, 36 years after the settlement was abandoned
A house in 2008, 36 years after the settlement was abandoned
State Kingdom of Denmark
Constituent country Greenland
Municipality Qaasuitsup
Founded1924
Abandoned1972
Time zoneUTC-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

Old mineworks

Qulissat was not a traditional Inuit settlement, but was founded in 1924 as a coal mining town. By 1966 the mine was producing 40,000 tonnes of coal a year and the town had a population of 1,400, making it the sixth-largest population centre in Greenland.[2] The coal mine attracted a multinational population, with Danes, Swedes, and British people working in the mines.[3]

In 1966 the Greenland Provincial Council voted to close the mine due to falling profits and demand, poor quality coal and a lack of labour force in the cod fishing industry.[2] Residents were to be moved after a relocation plan was completed.[2] The mine was eventually closed on 4 October 1972, despite the fact that the cod industry had collapsed in the interim.[2] By then 700 residents had already moved, and the remaining 500 were compulsorily relocated. Kuupik Kleist, later Prime Minister of Greenland, was born in Qullissat, and was the last person to be confirmed, before the settlement was abandoned in 1972.[3]

The town was sold on 20 October 1972 to an entrepreneur, who demolished the site. The town's church was spared and relocated to nearby Ilulissat.[2]

Geography

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

Notable residents

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Qullissat.
  1. ^ Nuussuaq, Saga Map, Tage Schjøtt, 1992
  2. ^ a b c d e "Qullissat" Ilulissat Museum
  3. ^ a b "Suluk 2010 No.1" (PDF). Air Greenland. Retrieved 15 July 2010.
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