Hvalsey, Greenland

Hvalsey (Greenlandic Qaqortukulooq) is located near Qaqortoq, Greenland and is the site of Greenland's largest, best-preserved Norse ruins in the area known as the Eastern Settlement, Hvalseyjarfjordkirkja.

At Hvalsey there are the ruins of a farmstead which belonged to the Kings of Norway in the 14th century. The old hall, which is 14 metres (46 ft) long and 3 metres (9.8 ft) or 4 metres (13 ft) wide, is in the middle of the ruins. The well-preserved newer hall measures 8 metres (26 ft) by 5 metres (16 ft). There is also a church, first erected in the early 12th cenury.

Things to See & Do

* Church ruins at Hvalsey
* Farmstead ruins

General Information

Cruise Season - May - Oct
Currency - Danish krone (DKK)
Language - Kalaalllisut, Danish
Electricity - 2 round pins European style
Time - GMT minus three hours
International Country Telephone Code + 299

Travel Links - Air Greenland serves the village as part of government contract, with winter-only helicopter flights from Kitsissuarsuit Heliport to Aasiaat Airport. Settlement flights in the Disko Bay region are unique in that they are operated only during winter and spring.

During summer and autumn, when the waters of Disko Bay are navigable, communication between settlements is by sea only, serviced by Diskoline. The ferry links Kitsissuarsuit with Aasiaat and Qeqertarsuaq on Disko Island.