Nuuk is the capital of Greenland and its largest city. It is the territory’s administrative, cultural, and economic center, as well as the seat of Greenland’s self-government institutions.
The city was founded in 1728 by the Norwegian-Danish missionary Hans Egede, who relocated his settlement to the site of an existing Inuit settlement. Egede called the colony Godthaab, meaning “Good Hope,” but the Greenlandic name Nuuk gradually became preferred, especially after Greenland gained home rule in 1979. In Greenlandic, Nuuk refers to a cape, reflecting the city’s position at the end of a major fjord.
Nuuk’s status as Greenland’s largest city does not mean it is large by international standards. Its population is only around 20,000, but that makes it far bigger than Greenland’s other settlements. The city contains the Inatsisartut, Greenland’s parliament, government ministries, major employers, and the territory’s main cultural institutions.
Nuuk is also notable geographically: at roughly 64 degrees north, it is one of the world’s most northerly national or territorial capitals. Qaqortoq, Ilulissat, and Sisimiut are important Greenlandic towns, but none is the capital.