Qasigiannguit

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Qasigiannguit (small spotted seals )
Christianshåb (Christian hope )
K'asigiánguit
Qasigiannguit from the Air (2011)
Qasigiannguit from the Air (2011)
Commune Qeqertalik municipality
District Qasigiannguit
Geographical location 68 ° 49 '9 "  N , 51 ° 11' 35"  W Coordinates: 68 ° 49 '9 "  N , 51 ° 11' 35"  W.
Qasigiannguit (Greenland)
Qasigiannguit
Residents 1,081
(January 1, 2020)
founding 1734
Time zone UTC-3

Qasigiannguit [ qaˌsiɣiˈaŋːuitˢʰ ] (according to the old spelling K'asigiánguit ; Danish Christianshåb ) is a Greenland city ​​in the district of Qasigiannguit in the municipality of Qeqertalik .

location

Qasigiannguit is located on the west coast of the large Kangilinaaq peninsula on Disko Bay . The area is very rich in lakes. The closest place is Ilimanaq 19 km further north .

history

Foundation phase

The area around Qasigiannguit has been inhabited for around 4,500 years, as excavations from the Saqqaq culture on the island of Qeqertasussuk on the south coast of Disko Bay show.

After the first Danish colony was founded in Greenland, the businessman Mathias Andreas Fersleff made a trip to Disko Bay in 1727 and recommended the establishment of a second colony. He emphasized the importance of this undertaking several times before Jacob Severin founded the colony in 1734. Originally the colony was on the other side of the Umiarsualivik Bay , where the place is today. The original site is in the small side bay Illukut (Bryghusbugt), where ruins of the old settlement can still be found today. Jacob Severin named the place after King Christian VI. who ruled Denmark and Norway at the time. Poul Egede inaugurated the colony with a service. When the colony was founded, there was no place to live at this point, so Qasigiannguit was uninhabited before it was founded.

Around 1740 the colony was expanded with the materials of Dutch whaling ships that Fersleff had captured. In the same year a peat wall house was built as a school house because numerous Greenlanders had come to the colony to be taught Christianity and to be baptized. It is said that there was so much trade going on in the colony in March 1743 that one had to think of a market day in Copenhagen . In the first few years, however, scurvy and dysentery also raged among the colonists. Around 1745 a merchant, an assistant, a cooper, a carpenter, a cook and seven sailors were employed in the colony. In 1750 the colony consisted of a 145 m² apartment building, a 45 m² half-timbered building that functioned as a brewery and bakery, a 31 m² peat wall house that served as a provisions store, a cooperage and a 54 m² bacon house. The area turned out to be bad hunting ground and there were famine every year and it was said that the Greenlanders were being spoiled by the bad and lustful behavior of the sailors. In 1752 the mission was therefore moved to Ilimanaq . In the same year a 169 m² apartment was built for the colonial administrator.

In 1763, Qasigiannguit was relocated a few hundred meters north to where it is today because of the better wind conditions. The strong foehn winds that pulled down from the mountain had often damaged buildings. On January 1, 1739, half the roof of the house along with a chimney was blown away and the brewery was completely destroyed. The buildings were moved to the new location, with the exception of the house, which remained in place for around 40 years before it was also moved. In February 1786 another foehn wind caused great damage. A boat was destroyed, doors and windows were torn off, roofs blew away, and barrels shattered. The residents had to crawl on the floor because it was impossible to stand.

Decline and upswing

Although the economy in the colony was satisfactory, Christianshaab was not of great importance among the Greenland colonies and in 1792 it was proposed to give up the colony. However, there was no suitable port in Ilimanaq and so the colony remained in Qasigiannguit.

The colony has been struggling exceptionally well with suicide. In 1757 missionary Severin Thrane (based in Claushavn) stabbed himself. In 1799 the cook Peter Ellerod killed himself and in 1850 the colonial administrator Johan Peter Petersen hanged himself.

In 1793 only 31 Greenlanders lived in three houses in Qasigiannguit due to the lack of a mission. In 1805, too, Qasigiannguit had 31 residents. The population continued to decline due to the war that followed shortly thereafter. Trade stalled and did not recover after the war. In 1826 the colony was dissolved and Qasigiannguit became an Udsted . In the meantime almost no one lived in the area and in 1828 a single Dane without commercial rights lived in Qasigiannguit. In 1829 the place got the colony status back and in 1830 a oil distillery was built. Only then did the population begin to rise again. In 1850 63 people lived in Qasigiannguit.

In 1869, after more than 100 years, a school building was rebuilt in Qasigiannguit. In 1889/90 a 50 m² church was built as a clad half-timbered building. It was provided with a shingle roof, a small bell tower and a vestibule. The handsome interior was largely paid for by the parish. In 1903/04 a 18 m² school building with a porch and coal shed was built using materials from the old chapel.

Qasigiannguit is the place of origin of the Greenlandic families Thorning, Rasmussen, Olsvig and Grønvold.

Recent history

In 1915 there were seven Danes and 93 Greenlanders living in Qasigiannguit. The latter lived in 16 Greenlandic houses. Most of the houses were average well furnished, but some stood out for the variety of furniture. In addition to the church, the school and the apartment of the colonial administrator, there was a team house with a bakery, a provision house with a shop, a carpentry, a cooperage, a brewery, a coal shed, a powder house, a oil distillery and two bacon houses in Qasigiannguit. There were seven hunters and nine fishermen among the Greenlanders, although here, in contrast to other places, many men lived by catching seals and fishing at the same time.

From 1911 the colony was the capital of a municipality in the 4th district electoral council of North Greenland. The parish had a parish council consisting of three members and had no other places to live. The colony did not have its own missionary and belonged to the parish of Ilulissat , but was the seat of an upper catechist district. From a medical point of view, the district doctor in Ilulissat was responsible for Qasigiannguit. The trade was represented in the colony by a colonial administrator, who was temporarily represented by his assistant.

On January 23, 1917, another Föhnorkan took place, tearing down roofs and throwing residents through the air.

1950 Qasigiannguit became the capital of the municipality Qasigiannguit , to which the places of the former colonial district were assigned. During the administrative reform in 2009, Qasigiannguit and the Ikamiut, which until then only belonged to it, were incorporated into the Qaasuitsup Kommunia . Qasigiannguit has been part of the Qeqertalik municipality since 2018 .

List of colonial employees until 1921

Colonial administrator

The following persons were colonial administrators of the Christianshaab colony until 1921. From 1826 to 1830 Ilimanaq's commercial assistant worked for the colony.

  • 1734-1736: Jens Hiorth
  • 1737–1738: Niels Axelsen Rasch
  • 1738–1739: Mathias Andreas Fersleff
  • 1739–1740: Conrad Hachild
  • 1740–1743: Niels Egede
  • 1743–1746: Bent Jacobsen Lund
  • 1746–1750: Carl Christopher Dalager
  • 1750–1753: Bent Jacobsen Lund
  • 1753–1783: Jonas Lillienschiold de Svanenhielm
  • 1783-1787: Niels Fogh Irgens
  • 1787–1789: Nikolaj Daniel Muus
  • 1789–1791: Niels Møller Thomsen
  • 1791–1792: Andreas Lauridsen Nørregaard
  • 1792–1800: Christian Jeppesen Møller
  • 1800–1807: Johan Christian Steen
  • 1807–1826: Johan Christian Geisler
  • 1826–1827: Carl Søren Vilhelm Egtved
  • 1827–1830: Frederik Lassen
  • 1830–1850: Johan Peter Petersen
  • 1850–1862: Lars Frederik Larsen
  • 1862–1869: Eduard Gaspar Boye
  • 1869–1870: Niss Lauritz Elberg
  • 1870–1878: Carl August Ferdinand Bolbroe
  • 1878–1879: Carl Ludvig Severin Fleischer
  • 1879–1880: Johannes Herman Mads Mørch
  • 1880–1884: Edgar Christian Fencker
  • 1884–1885: Otto Alexander Juncker
  • 1885: -0000Niss Lauritz Elberg
  • 1885–1886: Poul Müller
  • 1886–1887: Johan Carl Joensen
  • 1887–1890: Ernst Viggo Møller
  • 1890-1891: Poul Müller
  • 1891-1892: Johan Carl Joensen
  • 1892–1893: Peter Jürgen Petersen
  • 1894–1901: Michael Christian Maigaard
  • 1901–1904: Carl Frederik Myhre
  • 1904–1905: Christian August Nielsen
  • 1905–1907: Carl Frederik Harries
  • 1907–1908: Oluf Nicolaj Willemann throne
  • 1908–1910: Carl Frederik Harries
  • 1910–1914: Otto Rudolph Binzer
  • from 1914: 00.Carl Ernst Christian Lembcke-Otto

Missionaries and pastors

Until 1792 the colonial district had a missionary. However, this only had its seat in Qasigiannguit until 1752. Then he was stationed in Ilimanaq. After that, the missionary only worked for the colony with a second seat for a short time.

  • 1734–1735: Anders Jespersen Bing
  • 1736-1740: Poul Hansen Egede
  • 1739–1743: Laurids Jakobsen Alsbach
  • 1739–1752: Jens Pedersen Mørk (catechist)
  • 1740–1744: Henrik Wedzel
  • 1743-1748: Peder Andersen Welling
  • 1744–1746: Segud Hansen Grønbech
  • 1747–1752: Niels Brønlund Bloch
  • 1749–1752: Peder Egede
  • 1773–1775: Morten Pedersen Balwig (catechist)
  • 1775–1777: Morten Pedersen Balwig
  • 1780–1781: Caspar Grewe

doctors

Most of the colonial district was part of the Jakobshavn medical district. A doctor was stationed in Qasigiannguit for only one year.

  • 1906–1907: Viggo Westergaard

economy

In 1959, a shrimp factory was founded in Qasigiannguit , which led to an upswing that increased the population of the place from 300 to 1,400 people. During the turn of the millennium, Royal Greenland took over the factory and converted production so that today mainly halibut is processed. The hunt for seals , musk ox and whales also plays a bigger role. Another economic mainstay is tourism in Qasigiannguit. The area is good for hiking, and whale watching, dog sledding, and ice fishing are all available. The "Project Levende Boplads" ( German  project living place ) teaches tourists the traditional way of life of the Kalaallit before colonization.

Infrastructure and supply

Qasigiannguit has an extensive road network. The traffic with the surrounding area takes place in winter with dog sleds, snowmobiles and skis. There are two docks in Qasigiannguit, one on the island of Quilik (Spækholmen), which is connected to the mainland and has two quays of 40 and 55 m with a water depth of eight meters, and one at the end of the bay with a 75 m long quay at a water depth of almost four meters. There are also three private pontoon bridges. The disco line regularly connects the city with Aasiaat and Ilulissat in summer , while the sea is frozen over from January to May. The city ​​is connected to Aasiaat, Ilulissat and Qeqertarsuaq by helicopter via the Qasigiannguit heliport .

The electricity, water and heat supply is taken over by Nukissiorfiit . While the electricity is generated by a diesel power plant, the heat is supplied via oil stoves. Drinking water is taken from Lake Tasersuaq and treated in a waterworks. Almost half of the buildings in Qasigiannguit are connected to a sewage network, while the rest of them discharge their sewage into the sea. To the northwest of the city is the garbage dump where the garbage is deposited. Telecommunication is secured by TELE Greenland .

Development

The primary school in Qasigiannguit is the Juunarsip Atuarfia, which teaches around 160 students from the 1st to the 10th grade. There is a branch of the Piareersarfik vocational school in the city. Qasigiannguit is also home to one of the two Efterskoler in Greenland, the Efterskole Villads Villadsen, which is also the larger of the two. There are several nurseries and nurseries and a nursing home. The hospital in Qasigiannguit also houses a dental practice. In the city there is also a police station, a library, the Disko Bay Hotel including a restaurant and an administration building. There is also a post office and a branch of Pilersuisoq that supplies the residents with goods.

Numerous buildings in Qasigiannguit are classified as worthy of preservation due to their age, including the church from 1889. The only listed building in the city is also the oldest. The building, erected in 1734, is the oldest wooden house in Greenland and now houses the Qasigiannguit Museum , which presents evidence of the Kalaallit hunting and fishing culture, including the objects from Qeqertasussuk.

Sons and daughters

Population development

Qasigiannguit is a shrinking city. Behind Paamiut , the strongest relative population decline of all cities in Greenland can be seen here. Since the peak at the beginning of the 1980s, Qasigiannguit has lost about 40% of its population.

Web links

Commons : Qasigiannguit  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Map with all official place names confirmed by Oqaasileriffik , provided by Asiaq
  2. ↑ a b c d e f Qasigiannguit at qaasuitsup-kw.cowi.webhouse.dk
  3. ↑ Matthias Fersleff in Dansk Biografisk Leksikon
  4. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k Hother Ostermann : Beskrivelse af Distrikterne i Nordgrønland: Christianshaab District. De grandson Bopladser. Christianshaab colonies . In: Georg Carl Amdrup , Louis Bobé , Adolf Severin Jensen , Hans Peder Steensby (eds.): Grønland i tohundredeaaret for Hans Egedes landing (=  Meddelelser om Grønland . Volume 60-61 ). tape 1 . C. A. Reitzel Boghandel, Copenhagen 1921, p. 124 ff . ( Digitized in the Internet Archive ).
  5. ↑ Qasigiannguit in Den Store Danske
  6. ^ A b c Hother Ostermann : Beskrivelse af Distrikterne i Nordgrønland: Christianshaab District. History . In: Georg Carl Amdrup , Louis Bobé , Adolf Severin Jensen , Hans Peder Steensby (eds.): Grønland i tohundredeaaret for Hans Egedes landing (=  Meddelelser om Grønland . Volume 60-61 ). tape 1 . C. A. Reitzel Boghandel, Copenhagen 1921, p. 123 f . ( Digitized in the Internet Archive ).
  7. ↑ Population of Qasigiannguit 1977–2020 at bank.stat.gl