Greenland Holidays

Greenland Holidays

Holidays in Greenland are often required by tourists who want to have a vacation in the island. Some want to see the island to see the culture, entertainment, sports, historic areas of the island. Some may want to see the ice, the landscapes and the scenery of the island. Some may want to see glaciers, or the wildlife of the area. Some may want to go exploring.

The Atlantic Ocean borders Greenland's southeast; the Greenland Sea is to the east; the Arctic Ocean is to the north; and Baffin Bay is to the west. The nearest countries are Iceland, east of Greenland in the Atlantic Ocean, and Canada, to the west and across Baffin Bay. Greenland is the world's largest island, and is the largest dependent territory by area in the world. It also contains the world's largest national park.

Greenland (Kalaallisut: Kalaallit Nunaat, meaning "Land of the Greenlanders"; Danish: Grønland) is a self-governing Danish province located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically and ethnically an Arctic island country and geographically a part of the continent of North America, politically and historically Greenland is associated with Europe, specifically Iceland, Norway, and Denmark. In 1978, Denmark granted home rule to Greenland, making it an equal member of the Rigsfællesskab. Greenland is, by area, the world's largest island which is not a continent in its own right.

In prehistoric times, Greenland was home to a number of Paleo-Eskimo cultures. From AD 984 it was colonized by Norwegian settlers in two settlements on the west coast on the fjords near the very southwestern tip of the island. They thrived for a few centuries, but disappeared sometime in the 15th century.

Data from ice cores indicate that from AD 800 to 1300 the regions around the fjords of southern Greenland experienced a relatively mild climate. Trees and herbaceous plants grew there, and the climate initially allowed farming of livestock as in Norway. These remote communities thrived on farming, hunting and trade with Norway. When the Norwegian kings converted their domains to Christianity, a bishop was installed in Greenland, subordinate to the archdiocese of Nidaros. The settlements seem to have coexisted relatively peacefully with the Inuit, who had migrated south from the Arctic islands of North America around 1200. In 1261, Greenland became part of the Kingdom of Norway.

Around the 14th and 15th centuries, the Norwegian settlements vanished, likely due to famine and increasing conflicts with the Inuit. The condition of human bones from this period indicates the Norse population was malnourished. The main reasons appear to have been soil erosion due to destruction of the natural vegetation for farming, turf, and wood by the Norse, a decline in temperatures during the Little Ice Age, and armed conflicts with the Inuit. Jared Diamond suggests that cultural practices, such as rejecting fish as a source of food and reliance solely on livestock ill-adapted to Greenland's climate, caused by the mini-ice age, which resulted in recurring famines, with environmental degradation led to the abandonment of the colony. However, other research has suggested that fish were a major source of food for the Norse Greenlanders from the early 1300s onward.

he Kingdom of Denmark–Norway reasserted its latent claim to the colony in 1721. But ties with Norway were severed by the Treaty of Kiel of 1814, ceding Norway to the king of Sweden while Denmark retained the Norwegian overseas possessions: the Faroe Islands, Iceland and Greenland, as well as Denmark-Norway's small territories in India (Tranquebar), West Africa (Danish Gold Coast), and the West Indies (Danish Virgin Islands).

Norway occupied and claimed parts of (then uninhabited) East Greenland also called Erik the Red's Land in July 1931, claiming that it constituted Terra nullius. Norway and Denmark agreed to settle the matter at the Permanent Court of International Justice in 1933, where Norway lost.

During World War II, Greenland's connection to Denmark was severed on April 9, 1940 when Denmark was occupied by Germany. Greenland was able to buy goods from the United States and Canada, by selling cryolite from the mine in Ivigtût. During the war the system of government changed. Governor Eske Brun ruled the island via a 1925 law that allowed governors to take control under extreme circumstances. The other governor, Aksel Svane, was transferred to the US to lead the commission to supply Greenland. A sledge patrol (from 1952 Sirius Patrol), guarding the northeastern shores of Greenland using dog sleds, detected and alerted the US-troops who then destroyed several German weather stations, giving Denmark a better position in the postwar turmoil. However, a commission in 1946 (with the highest Greenlandic councils Landsrådene as participant) recommended patience and no radical reformation of the system. Two years later the first step towards changing the government was initiated when a grand commission was founded. In 1950 the report (G-50) was presented. Greenland was to be a modern welfare society with Denmark as the sponsor and example. In 1953, Greenland was made an equal part of the Danish Kingdom. Home rule was granted in 1979.

Nuuk (Danish: Godthåb) is the capital and largest city of Greenland. It is located at the mouth of the Nuup Kangerlua inlet on the west coast of Greenland, about 240 km south of the Arctic Circle.

Cities, towns and villages in Greenland

Aappilattoq, Nanortalik, Aappilattoq, Upernavik, Aasiaat, Akunnaaq, Alluitsup Paa, Ammassalik, Ammassivik, Annoatok, Arsuk, Atammik, Attu, Danmarkshavn, Eqalugaarsuit Etah, Igaliku, Iginniarfik, Ikamiut, Ikerasaarsuk, Ikerasak, Ikkatteq, Ilimanaq, Illorsuit, Ilulissat, Innaarsuit, Isortoq, Itilleq, Itterajivit, Ittoqqortoormiit, Ivittuut, Kangaamiut, Kangaatsiaq, Kangerluk, Kangerlussuaq, Kangersuatsiaq, Kangilinnguit, Kapisillit, Kitsissuarsuit, Kullorsuaq, Kulusuk, Kuummiut, Maniitsoq, Moriusaq, Naajaat, Nanortalik, Napasoq, Narsaq, Narsarmijit, Narsarsuaq, Niaqornaarsuk, Niaqornat, Nuugaatsiaq, Nuuk, Nuussuaq, Oqaatsut, Paamiut, Pituffik, Qaanaaq, Qaarsut, Qaqortoq, Qasigiannguit, Qassiarsuk, Qassimiut, Qeqertaq, Qeqertarsuaq, Qeqertarsuaq (Qaanaaq), Qeqertarsuatsiaat, Qeqertat, Qinngorput, Qorlortorsuaq, Saarloq, Saattut, Saqqaq, Sarfannguit, Savissivik, Sermiligaaq, Siorapaluk, Sisimiut, Tasiilaq, Tasiusaq, Nanortalik, Tasiusaq, Upernavik, Tiniteqilaaq, Ukkusissat, Upernavik, Upernavik Kujalleq, Uummannaq, Uunartoq

Find a Villa from Across Europe

Grand World Villas - Find a Villa from anywhere in the world

Grand Global Villas - Find Villas from Around the Globe

Planet Villas

An Index with links to almost all our sites

Holiday to - Great places to go on Holiday to

Holiday to 2 - More Great places to go on Holiday to

Holiday to 3 - More places to go on Holiday to

Holiday to 4 - More places to go on Holiday to

Hotel in 5 (Five)

Hotel in 6

Hotel in 7

Hotel in 8