When Erik the Red established his Viking settlements in western Greenland, he chose the fjords in the area of Narssaq because of their relatively warm climate. Here can be found the ruins of numerous Norse settlements. The stone ruins of Dyrnæs Church and the Landnamsgaarden homestead date to the year A.D. 1,000. and are among the oldest Norse ruins in Greenland. Today 1,500 people live here and like the Norse many continue to farm sheep on the arable land north of town. Although people have lived in the area for thousands of years, the town itself wasn’t founded until 1830. It has an excellent museum with exhibits dedicated to local Greenlandic technology, the kayak and Norse settlement.
