NORSE RUINS

Visitors in search of history will be delighted to admire the 1000 year old Viking ruins including the foundations of the first Christian church in the New World found in 1961 with 143 skeletons buried around it. It was named after the wife of Erik the Red, who had converted to Christianity: the Tjodhilde Church. Very zealous, she also wanted to convert her husband. The anecdote tells that she refused him any sexual intercourse until he was baptized and that Erik never gave in! However, he allowed him to build a church, provided that it was not visible from his farm. The latter was enlarged and moved to another site several times. But the main area of ruins is a little further along the coast with traces of houses, a manor house, sheep breeding sites and the remains of the Ping, the local political assembly. This is where the Viking Republic was born! A little further away, you can see the splendid reconstructions of the Tjodhilde church and a period house to give visitors a better understanding of Viking architecture (free admission). The latter were built in 2000 to mark the 1000th anniversary of the introduction of Christianity in Greenland. The same is true for the statue of Leif Eriksson (called "Lucky", Leif meaning "lucky") that you can observe on the heights to commemorate his arrival here before he sailed west and discovered, like his father Erik the Red, a new land that he named Vinland (today's Canada). Not far from the Norse reproductions, you can observe on a high rock several sculptures created in 1970 by the Danish artist Sven Havsteen-Mikkelsen (1970) illustrating the history of Brattahlid (Erik the Red and his wife, a Viking ship, a horseman, a cross and the ruins).

Since 2017, Qassiarsuk has been one of five UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Another ruin, but this time Inuit, is not far away. It is a winter house dating from 1750.

Otto Frederiksen's house, the first farmer to settle here in 1921, contains a small exhibition of period objects and photos (free). It will give you a good overview of how sheep farmers lived.

If you are interested in geology, consider taking a look at the crystals of the region. While walking along the roads, look for defects and you may be able to discover beautiful minerals.