Paamiut is a town in southwestern
GreenlandGreenland is an autonomous constituent country within the Kingdom of Denmark located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago...
, in the
SermersooqSermersooq is a new municipality in Greenland, operational from 1 January 2009. It is home to the capital of Greenland, Nuuk, and is the most populous municipality in Greenland. Its population is 20,998...
municipality, located approximately at . The population is 1,817 (as of 2005). Paamiut is situated in the southern end of a small estuary called Kuannersooq - the inlet. The name of the city means "they who reside by the mouth".
People have, it seems, lived there since around 1500 B.C.E. The town was established in 1742 and later prospered on trading fur and
whaleWhale is the common name for marine mammals of the order Cetacea. The term whale is sometimes used to refer to all cetaceans, but in more common English usage it generally excludes the members of the Delphinoidea superfamily, such as dolphins and porpoises...
products.
Paamiut is a town in southwestern
GreenlandGreenland is an autonomous constituent country within the Kingdom of Denmark located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago...
, in the
SermersooqSermersooq is a new municipality in Greenland, operational from 1 January 2009. It is home to the capital of Greenland, Nuuk, and is the most populous municipality in Greenland. Its population is 20,998...
municipality, located approximately at . The population is 1,817 (as of 2005). Paamiut is situated in the southern end of a small estuary called Kuannersooq - the inlet. The name of the city means "they who reside by the mouth".
History
People have, it seems, lived there since around 1500 B.C.E. The town was established in 1742 and later prospered on trading fur and
whaleWhale is the common name for marine mammals of the order Cetacea. The term whale is sometimes used to refer to all cetaceans, but in more common English usage it generally excludes the members of the Delphinoidea superfamily, such as dolphins and porpoises...
products. It also became known for its
soapstoneSoapstone is a metamorphic rock, a talc-schist. It is largely composed of the mineral talc and is rich in magnesium. It is produced by dynamothermal metamorphism and metasomatism, which occurs in the areas where tectonic plates are subducted, changing rocks by heat and pressure, with influx of...
artists. In the 1950s Paamiut developed a booming
codCod is the common name for the genus Gadus, belonging to the family Gadidae, and is also used in the common name for various other fishes. Cod is a popular food with a mild flavor, low fat content and a dense, flaky white flesh. Cod livers are processed to make cod liver oil, an important source of...
industry that lasted until 1989 when the cod populations dwindled. In connection with a development plan called G60 Paamiut was chosen as to be the place to live for the entire population of the former Paamiut municipality. Therefore the number of people living there rose significantly during that period.
Paamiut today
The town has one of the finest churches in Greenland built in 1909. It is made of wood and is of Norwegian style drafted in
NorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty...
. The absorbing local museum is located in the centre, in original buildings from the previous century, among these a carpenter workshop and a salt warehouse.
As is the case for other towns of western Greenland, the sea is free of ice during the winter, whilst the primary occupation of the 2.100 inhabitants of Paamiut, and the sole township
ArsukArsuk is a village in the Sermersooq municipality in southwestern Greenland. It is located at approximately at the mouth of the Arsuk Fjord, into which flows the Arsuk Glacier. The population is 140 . Arsuk is Greenlandic for "the beloved place".-References:* Greenland and the Arctic. By Etain...
, is fishing. Icebergs, coming adrift along the east coast of Greenland and continuing up along the west coast normally arrive in the autumn, bringing numerous seals marking this season as a great time for the local hunters.
Transport
Paamiut is a port of call for the
Arctic Umiaq LineArctic Umiaq Line a/s or Arctic Umiaq is a passenger and freight line in Greenland. It was founded in 1774 under the name Den Kongelige Grønlandske Handel. The company operates one ship on the Ilulissat-Narsaq route along the coast of western and southwestern Greenland. It is a subsidiary of Air...
coastal ship. In November 2007, the town airport (IATA: JFR, ICAO: BGPT) was built by
MittarfeqarfiitMittarfeqarfiit, Grønlands Lufthavnsvæsen or Greenlandic Airport Administration is the national airport operator of the airports in Greenland...
. Connections to
NuukNuuk, translated: "The Peninsula" is the capital and largest city of Greenland, and the seat of government for the Sermersooq municipality. It has a population of 17,834 , of whom 14,862 were born in Greenland...
,
KangilinnguitKangilinnguit, is a settlement and a naval base in the Sermersooq municipality in southwestern Greenland, founded as 'Green Valley' by the American Navy during the Second World War to protect the highly strategic cryolite quarry at the former town of Ivittuut. The U.S...
and
NarsarsuaqNarsarsuaq is a town in the Kujalleq municipality in southern Greenland. Today there is a thriving tourism industry in and around Narsarsuaq, whose attractions include a great diversity of wildlife, gemstones, tours to glaciers, and an airfield museum...
are served by
Air GreenlandAir Greenland Inc. is the regional airline of Greenland, headquartered in Nuuk. It operates largely domestic services, with services to Copenhagen. It offers concessional air services to all communities in Greenland and operates charter, taxi and special flights, such as air ambulance and search...
STOLSTOL is an acronym for short take-off and landing, a term used to describe aircraft with very short runway requirements.The formal NATO definition is:...
aircraft.