Nuuk | |
|---|---|
      .png) (left to right, top to bottom:) Skyline at night; Church; Downtown Nuuk, with Katuaq in the foreground; Sermitsiaq mountain overlooking Nuussuaq; Nuussuaq district; Qernertunnguit, neighbourhood in the Quassussuup Tungaa district; the skyline at night with the aurora borealis above | |
 Flag | |
  Nuuk Location within Greenland  Nuuk Nuuk (North America) | |
| Coordinates: 64°10′36″N 51°44′10″W / 64.17667°N 51.73611°W | |
| Sovereign state |  Kingdom of Denmark |
| Constituent country |  Greenland |
| Municipality | Sermersooq |
| Founded | 29 August 1728 |
| Incorporated | 1728 |
| Area | |
| • Total | 49 km2 (18.8 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 5 m (16 ft) |
| Population (2024) | |
| • Total | 19,872 (Largest in Greenland) |
| City and metropolitan population is co-extensive, the entire Metro area belongs to Nuuk City[clarify] | |
| Demonym | Nuummioq |
| Time zone | UTC−02:00 (Western Greenland Time) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−01:00 (Western Greenland Summer Time) |
| Postal code | 3900, 3905 |
| Website | www |
Nuuk (Greenlandic pronunciation: [nuːk] ; Danish: Nuuk,[1] formerly Godthåb [ˈkʌtˌhɔˀp])[2] is the capital of and most populous city in Greenland, an autonomous territory in the Kingdom of Denmark. Nuuk is the seat of government and the territory's largest cultural and economic center. Nuuk is also the seat of government for the Sermersooq municipality. In January 2024, it had a population of 19,872,[3] - more than a third of the country’s population - making it one of the smallest capital cities in the world by population. Nuuk is considered a modernized city after the policy began in 1950.[4]
The city was founded in 1728 by the Dano-Norwegian missionary Hans Egede when he relocated from the earlier Hope Colony (Haabets Koloni) where he arrived in 1721. The governor Claus Paarss was part of the relocation. The new colony was placed at the Inuit settlement of Nûk and was named Godthaab ("Good Hope"). "Nuuk" is the Greenlandic word for "cape" (Danish: næs) and is commonly found in Greenlandic place names. It is so named because of its position at the end of the Nuup Kangerlua fjord on the eastern shore of the Labrador Sea. Its latitude, at 64°11' N, makes it the world's northernmost capital, only a few kilometres farther north than the Icelandic capital Reykjavík. When home rule was established in 1979, the authorization of place names was transferred to Greenlandic authorities, who subsequently preferred Greenlandic names over Danish ones. The name Godthåb mostly went out of use over the next two decades.
The campus of the University of Greenland, hosting Statistics Greenland and the main holdings of the Public and National Library of Greenland,[5] are at the northern end of the district, near the road to Nuuk Airport.[6]
Nuuk receives its electric power mainly from the renewable energy-powered Buksefjord hydroelectric power plant by way of a 132 kV powerline crossing Ameralik fjord over a distance of 5,376 m (17,638 ft), the world's longest free span.[7][8]
- ^ "DSN".
- ^ The pre-1948 spelling was Godthaab.
- ^ "Population January 1st by residence type and time". StatBank. Retrieved 9 June 2024.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Dzik, Tony (1 October 2018). "Nuuk, Greenland: Site, Situation, and "The Law of the Primate City"".
- ^ "Velkommen til Ilimmarfik". University of Greenland, Ilimmarfik. Archived from the original on 11 July 2010. Retrieved 11 July 2010.
- ^ "Kontakt". University of Greenland. Archived from the original on 12 July 2010. Retrieved 11 July 2010.
- ^ "Greenland hydro capacity increases with new plant". North of 56. 20 August 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
- ^ "Buksefjorden: Grønlands første vandkraftværk satte verdensrekord" (in Danish). Arctic Business Network. 19 February 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2015.