Ilulissat


Ilulissat, formerly Jakobshavn or Jacobshaven, is the municipal seat and largest town of the Avannaata municipality in western Greenland, located approximately north of the Arctic Circle. With the population of 4,670 as of 2020, it is the third-largest city in Greenland, after Nuuk and Sisimiut.
The city is home to almost as many sled-dogs as people.
In direct translation, Ilulissat is the Kalaallisut word for "Icebergs". The nearby Ilulissat Icefjord is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and has made Ilulissat the most popular tourist destination in Greenland. Tourism is now the town's principal industry.
The city neighbours the Ilulissat Icefjord, where there are enormous icebergs from the most productive glacier in the northern hemisphere.

History

The town was established as a trading post by Jacob Severin's company in 1741 and was named in his honor.
The Zion Church was built in the late 18th century, and was the largest man-made structure in Greenland at the time. The final resident of nearby Sermermiut moved to Ilulissat in 1850.

Ilulissat Declaration

The town was the site of the Arctic Ocean Conference in May 2008. The joint meeting between Canada, Denmark, Norway, Russia, and the United States was held to discuss key issues relating to territorial claims in the Arctic and Arctic shrinkage produced by climate change.
The Ilulissat Declaration arose from the conference. It stated that the law of the sea provided for important rights and obligations concerning the delineation of the outer limits of the continental shelf, the protection of the marine environment, freedom of navigation, marine scientific research, and other uses of the sea. It also said that it remained committed to this legal framework and to the orderly settlement of any possible overlapping claims.
With this existing legal framework providing a solid foundation for responsible management, there was no need to develop a new comprehensive international legal regime to govern the Arctic Ocean. The states involved would continue the developments within the Arctic Ocean and continue to implement appropriate measures to further said developments.

Geography and environment

The Ilulissat Icefjord southeast of Ilulissat was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004.

Population

With 4,670 inhabitants in 2020, Ilulissat is the largest town in the Avannaata municipality. The population increased over 8% relative to 1990 levels but has remained steady since around 2003.

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bar:1991 from:start till:4135 text:"4,135"
bar:1992 from:start till:4156 text:"4,156"
bar:1993 from:start till:4072 text:"4,072"
bar:1994 from:start till:4057 text:"4,057"
bar:1995 from:start till:4052 text:"4,052"
bar:1996 from:start till:4086 text:"4,086"
bar:1997 from:start till:4168 text:"4,168"
bar:1998 from:start till:4159 text:"4,159"
bar:1999 from:start till:4167 text:"4,167"
bar:2000 from:start till:4199 text:"4,199"
bar:2001 from:start till:4145 text:"4,145"
bar:2002 from:start till:4285 text:"4,285"
bar:2003 from:start till:4525 text:"4,525"
bar:2004 from:start till:4470 text:"4,470"
bar:2005 from:start till:4533 text:"4,533"
bar:2006 from:start till:4511 text:"4,511"
bar:2007 from:start till:4512 text:"4,512"
bar:2008 from:start till:4584 text:"4,584"
bar:2009 from:start till:4528 text:"4,528"
bar:2010 from:start till:4546 text:"4,546"
bar:2011 from:start till:4606 text:"4,606"
bar:2012 from:start till:4621 text:"4,621"
bar:2013 from:start till:4541 text:"4,541"
bar:2014 from:start till:4530 text:"4,530"
bar:2015 from:start till:4491 text:"4,491"
bar:2016 from:start till:4442 text:"4,442"
bar:2017 from:start till:4555 text:"4,555"
bar:2018 from:start till:4563 text:"4,563"

Transport

;Air
Ilulissat Airport is located to the northeast of the town center and was built in 1983. It serves Ilulissat with connections to towns in northwestern and midwestern Greenland via Air Greenland. Service to Reykjavík, Iceland, began in April 2011 via Air Iceland Connect and Air Greenland in 2017.
;Sea
The Arctic Umiaq ferry links Ilulissat with Sisimiut, Nuuk, and other towns and settlements on the western and southwestern coast of Greenland.

Sport

The town is home to Nagdlunguaq-48 who play in the Greenlandic Men's Football Championship, Greenland's top soccer competition. Nagdlunguaq-48, who play all their league games in Nuuk, have won the championship ten times.

Notable people

Twin towns – Sister cities

Ilulissat is twinned or cooperating with several towns and cities, including:

Overviews and data