History of Kulusuk

populated western coast, the southeastern coast was deserted for another two hundred years. The region wasn't settled until late 18th century, with the current town of Tasiilaq – then known as Ammassalik – surviving as the only permanent settlement in the 19th century. Population increased however from the 1880s, dispersing over several villages in the area.

20th century

The small Kulusuk Island wasn't permanently settled until the early 1900s, with the village founded only in 1909, celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2009. The church in the village was constructed in 1908 by the crew of a Danish sailing vessel that ran aground on the nearby coast and constructed from the timbers of the ship itself. A model of the ship still hangs above the organ of the church, rebuilt and brought into its present state in 1922.

The village cemetery is located about 200 m (656.2 ft) southeast of the village center, on permafrost ground, straddling the southern and northern slopes of a small hill. No names appear on the crosses in honour of the Inuit tradition that the name of the deceased is passed on to another at death and lives on to the next generation.

In the 1930s the population reached 165 inhabitants, the village surpassing the older Tasiilaq as the largest settlement in the region. As of 2013, Kulusuk is the third-largest settlement in the region, after Tasiilaq and Kuummiit, and the fourth-largest on the eastern coast, although the number of villagers dipped below 300 in the late 2000s