History of Narsaq

Present day Narsaq was founded as Nordprøven ("North Prøven") in 1830, distinguishing it from Sydprøven ("South Prøven", modern Alluitsup Paa) established the same year. The initial settlement was founded as a trading colony of Qaqortoq, then named Julianehaab.

A trading center was established here due to the natural deep water harbor which could accommodate ocean faring vessels, . Initially local seal hunters traded blubber and seal skin for continental goods, such as coffee, sugar, bread and buckwheat.

Until approximately 1900 seal hunting formed the main economy for Narsaq. In the early 1900s seal hunting began to fail, and the main basis for the economy gradually shifted to fishing. The city's historical fishing village is from 1914. The main house of the historical village today houses the power company in the city.

Simiutak at the Skovfjord mouth near Narsaq was a HF/DF radio range finding station called Bluie West Three during World War Two. The station commenced operations in January 1942, and was permanently manned until the end of the war.

The population also increased during this period, from 25 in 1870, to 162 in 1919, and to 300 in 1930. However the settlement did not experience significant population growth until 1953, when its first prawn and fishing factory of Royal Greenland was established. The factory was subsequently closed in 2010.

In 1959 the population exceeded 600, and Narsaq achieved town status,. With 1,503 inhabitants as of 2013, it is the ninth-largest town in Greenland. Several hundred people live in the surrounding community.

Until December 31, 2008, the town was the administrative center of Narsaq Municipality in the Kitaa amt. In addition to the town, the municipality consisted of the Qassiarsuk, Igaliku and Narsarsuaq settlements,