Nuuk is the capital of Greenland.  Its history is connected with the missionary Hans Egede, who arrived in Greenland in 1721 to look for the descendants of the Icelandic settlers.  His ship landed on the Island of Hope, where there was a small settlement, which was moved to the present location of Nuuk seven years later.  Nuuk, therefore, is the first hamlet of the country and its oldest village.  The old colonial houses are few nowadays and the town is mostly modern with hotels, restaurants, malls, apartments blocks, town buses, city hall, cultural centre, house of parliament and a marina.  The town is divided in two parts, Nuuk, the older one, and Nuussuaq.

Altogether 18300 people inhabit them. Nuuk is beautifully situated on a spit of land, and might look like a city from afar, but the small and colourful bungalows depict the Greenlandic characteristics.  The main landmark of Nuuk is the 1210m high Mt. Sermitisiaq (The Saddle), and beyond the town are many long ad deep bays, which are very popular among sailers. During bright summer evenings and nights, very few sailers and boats occupy Nuuk’s harbour. Hans Egede, being the founding father of Nuuk/Godthåb, was not the first white man to settle in the area.  The Icelandic settlers built at least 80 farms on the Godthåb Bay, and most of their descendants remained there and in other settlements in Greenland until the turn of the 14^th century.  They disappeared mysteriously and no reasonable explanations have been offered yet.