Nuuk is the seat of government In Greenland and the territory's largest Europea union cultural and economic center.

It is so named because of its position at the end of the Nuup Kangerlua fjord on the eastern shore of the Labrador Sea.

[9] For a long time, it was occupied by the Dorset culture[failed verification] around the former settlement of Kangeq, but they disappeared from the Nuuk district before AD 1000.

The Nuuk area was later inhabited by Norse settlers from around 1000 AD until the disappearance of the settlement for uncertain reasons during the 15th century.

[10] The city proper was founded as the fort of Godt-Haab in 1728 by the royal governor Claus Paarss, when he relocated the missionary and merchant Hans Egede's earlier Hope Colony (Haabets Koloni) from Kangeq Island to the mainland.

Paarss's colonists consisted of mutinous soldiers, convicts, and prostitutes and most died within the first year of scurvy and other ailments.

[11] Hans Egede went back to Denmark in 1736 after 15 years in Greenland, leaving his son Poul to continue his work.

This became the nucleus for present-day Nuuk as many Greenlanders from the southeastern coast left their territory to live at the mission station.

From this base, further missions were established at Lichtenfels (1748), Lichtenau (1774), Friedrichsthal (1824), Umanak (1861), and Idlorpait (1864),[15] before they were discontinued in 1900 and folded into the Lutheran Church of Denmark.

This Countryside Council was abolished on 1 May 1979, when the city of Godthåb was renamed Nuuk by the Greenland Home Rule government.

Nuuk... has probably the highest percentage of aboriginal people of any city: almost 90% of Greenland's population of 58,000 is Inuit, and at least eight in 10 live in urban settlements.

Nuuk also celebrates Inuit culture and history to an extent that is unprecedented in many cities with higher total aboriginal populations.

[21] The fjord widens into a bay dotted with skerries near its mouth, opening into Labrador Sea at approximately 64°03′N 51°58′W / 64.050°N 51.967°W / 64.050; -51.967.

[23][24] Nuuk has a maritime-influenced tundra climate (Köppen ET) with long, cold, snowy winters and short, cool summers.

Although the winters in Nuuk are relatively cold, they are milder compared to other tundra climates, such as in Alaska in the United States or parts of Eastern Siberia.

By contrast, on the longest day and shortest night of the year, 21 June, the sun rises at 3:53 am and does not set until 1:03 am, producing constant civil twilight.

[31] Half of Greenland's immigrants live in Nuuk, which also accounts for a quarter of the country's native population.

[22] As the capital of Greenland, Nuuk is the administrative center of the country, containing all of the important government buildings and institutions.

She replaced former mayor Asii Chemnitz Narup in 2019 following a social media scandal involving posts criticizing her party.

It has 31 seats and its members are elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms.

[35] The aim of the organisation was to facilitate cooperation among all five municipalities of Greenland: Avannaata, Kujalleq, Qeqertalik, Qeqqata, and Sermersooq.

[41] The city, like much of Greenland, is heavily dependent upon Danish investment and relies on Denmark for block funding.

Other notable educational institutions include the Department of Nursing and Health Science, Nuuk Technical College and the Iron & Metal School.

Built in 1979, it is a hub for Air Greenland, which is also headquartered in Nuuk[45] and operates its technical base at the airport.

[46] Starting in mid 2024, Air Greenland and Canadian North airlines have an agreement with weekly flights between Nuuk and Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada.

[48] For most of the year, Nuuk is served twice-weekly by the coastal ferry of the Arctic Umiaq Line, which links the communities of the western coast.

[48][57] Nuuk Cathedral The Church of Our Saviour of the Lutheran diocese of Greenland was built in 1849, and the tower was added in 1884.

[60] The museum has many artifacts and exhibits related to Greenland's archaeology, history, art, and handicrafts, and contains the Qilakitsoq mummies.

Modern architecture Examples of modern architecture include the Katuaq cultural center by Schmidt Hammer Lassen (1997), the campus of the University of Greenland by Tegnestuen Nuuk and KHR Arkitekter (2008), the Nuuk Center by KHR Arkitekter (2012) and the Anstalten Correctional Facility by Friis & Moltke and Schmidt Hammer Lassen (2019).

[65] There is a hill for alpine skiing with an altitude difference around 300 meters on the mountain Lille Malene,[66] with the valley station close to the airport terminal.