| Church of Our Savior | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| 60°43′06″N46°02′25″W / 60.71833°N 46.04028°W | |
| Location | Qaqortoq |
| Country |  Greenland  Kingdom of Denmark |
| Denomination | Lutheran |
| History | |
| Founded | 1832 |
The Church of Our Savior (Danish Vor Freslers Kirke) is a wooden Lutheran church in Qaqortoq, the largest town in southern Greenland. It was established in 1832. [1] The red church is part of the old, colonial harbour district of the town.
The church was built from 1832, and was commissioned and built by the city of Drammen in Norway and Danish missionaries. It was consecrated the same year. The church has been refurbished and rebuilt several times since. Until the newer Gertrud Rasch's Church was built in 1973, it was the only church serving the Qaqortoq congregation.
The church housed a library at the second floor until the 1940s. [2]
The ceiling ship is a model of the royal trade ship Hvalfisken, which was in service for almost a century, starting in 1804. The church also holds the commemorative wreath and the lifebuoy for M/S Hans Hedtoft , which sank south of Cape Farewell on her maiden voyage on January 30, 1959. The buoy was found on Iceland and is the only wreckage found of the ship.
The organ of the church is a 4 stop, foot pumped, Marcussen Organ from 1930. [3]
Outside the church is a memorial stele for the missionary Hans Egede and his wife Gertrud Rask. [4]
Nuuk is the capital of and most populous city in Greenland, an autonomous territory in the Kingdom of Denmark. Nuuk is the seat of government and the territory's largest cultural and economic center. Nuuk is also the seat of government for the Sermersooq municipality. In January 2024, it had a population of 19,872, – more than a third of the territory's population – making it one of the smallest capital cities in the world by population. Nuuk is considered a modernized city.
Hans Poulsen Egede was a Dano-Norwegian Lutheran missionary who launched mission efforts to Greenland, which led him to be styled the Apostle of Greenland. He established a successful mission among the Inuit and is credited with revitalizing Dano-Norwegian interest in the island after contact had been broken for about 300 years. He founded Greenland's capital Godthåb, now known as Nuuk.
Paul or Poul Hansen Egede was a Dano-Norwegian theologian, missionary, and scholar who was principally concerned with the Lutheran mission among the Kalaallit people in Greenland that had been established by his father, Hans, in 1721.
MS Hans Hedtoft was a Danish cargo passenger liner that struck an iceberg and sank on 30 January 1959 on her maiden voyage off the coast of Western Greenland. The only piece of the wreckage ever found was a lifebelt.
Narsaq is a town in the Kujalleq municipality in southern Greenland. The name Narsaq is Kalaallisut for "Plain", referring to the shore of Tunulliarfik Fjord where the town is located.
Qaqortoq, also known as Julianehåb, is a city in, and the capital of, the Kujalleq municipality in southern Greenland, located near Cape Thorvaldsen. With a population of 3,050 in 2020, it is the most populous town in southern Greenland and the fourth or fifth-largest town on the island.
Alluitsup Paa is a village in the Kujalleq municipality in southern Greenland. Alluitsup Paa had 202 residents in 2020. Presently, the community's religious activities take place in Qaqortoq.
Aappilattoq or Rødførde is a village in the Kujalleq municipality in southern Greenland. The name means "red", after the red mountain rising above the settlement in the Greenlandic language. The settlement had 90 inhabitants in 2024. The area of Aappilattoq has been inhabited since the 19th century, but the present-day village was founded in 1922.
Qassiarsuk is a settlement in the Kujalleq municipality, in southern Greenland. Its population was 39 in 2020. Qassiarsuk is part of the Kujataa World Heritage Site, due to its historical importance as the homestead of Erik the Red and its unique testimony to Greenlandic farming.
Eqalugaarsuit is a settlement in the Kujalleq municipality in southern Greenland, located southeast of Qaqortoq and northwest of Alluitsup Paa. It had a population of 49 in 2020.
Narsarmijit, formerly Narsaq Kujalleq and Frederiksdal, is a settlement in southern Greenland. It is located in the Kujalleq municipality near Cape Thorvaldsen. Its population was 62 in 2024. There has been a slow but steady pattern of emigration since the late 1950s.
Ammassivik is a settlement in the Kujalleq municipality in southern Greenland. The modern name is the Kalaallisut for "where you catch ammassaat (capelin)". Its population was 74 in 2010 and 32 in 2020.
Saarloq is a settlement in the Kujalleq municipality in southern Greenland. Its population was 21 in 2020. It is located on a small island with the same name off the Labrador Sea coast, at the mouth of the Qaqortoq Fjord, west of Alluitsup Paa and 20 km south of Qaqortoq.
Qassimiut, also known by its Danish name Bødker, is a settlement in the Kujalleq municipality in southern Greenland. The settlement was founded in 1835 as a trading station. With a population of 20 in 2020, it is the smallest organized, permanent settlement in Greenland.
Narsarsuaq Airport is an airport located in Narsarsuaq, a settlement in the Kujalleq municipality in southern Greenland. Along with Nuuk Airport and Kangerlussuaq Airport, it is one of three civilian airports in Greenland capable of serving large airliners. It is also the only international airport in southern Greenland.
Qeqertarsuatsiaat, also known by its Danish name Fiskernæs, is a settlement in the Sermersooq municipality in southwestern Greenland, located on an island off the shores of Labrador Sea. Its population was 169 in 2020.
Hvalsey is located near Qaqortoq, Greenland and is the site of Greenland's largest, best-preserved Norse ruins in the area known as the Eastern Settlement (Eystribyggð). In 2017, it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List and part of the Kujataa Greenland site.
Arctic Umiaq Line A/S (AUL) or Arctic Umiaq is a passenger and freight shipping line in Greenland. Its name derives from the Kalaallisut word for the traditional Inuit passenger boat, the umiak, distinguished from the kayak, used for hunting. The sea connection provided by Arctic Umiaq provides supplies and communication to the entirety of western and southwestern Greenland. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Royal Arctic Line.
Gertrud Rask was the first wife of the Danish-Norwegian missionary to Greenland Hans Egede and was the mother of the missionary and translator Paul Egede.
Hans Egede Church is an evangelical Lutheran church in Nuuk, Greenland, located in the district of Old Nuuk. The church was consecrated on the 250-year anniversary of the founding of Hans Egede's mission. It is a wooden structure, named after Danish-Norwegian missionary Hans Egede.