Sisimuit, Greenland: August 15, 2025

Cecilia Clark
Sep 23
2 min read

Sisimuit means "residences at the fox holes." It is Greenland's second largest city with a population of about 5,500 people and 1300 sled dogs. It is the northernmost ice-free, sheltered port in Greenland. This area has been inhabited for the last 4,500 years, and after walking around Sisimuit, it seemed to me that it was the mostly livable city that I had visited so far. It is the fastest growing city in Greenland.

The rock face next to the road we walked up had lovely marine creature etchings all along its face. The small fish seemed to be painted with iridescent paint and had a glow to them.

The Arctic Circle Trail begins/ends in Sisimuit. The Arctic Circle Race known as the world’s toughest cross-country skiing sport starts and ends in Sisimuit. The next race is set for March 27, 2026.

It has a significant fishing industry in shrimp, halibut, cod, and salmon. The Royal Greenland fish processing plant at the Sisimuit port is the largest in Greenland.

Our first stop was at an open air museum. Bethel Church (the blue church) was consecrated in 1775. This is the first church in Greenland to have been paid for by the Greenlandic congregation itself. The payment consisted of 60 barrels of whale blubber, and the building was shipped from Copenhagen as a construction kit. One of the exhibits inside the church was traditional clothing worn by men and women in Greenland. Each area has a slight variation on the style of clothing. Sitting above the museum the red church is newer. It was also a kit and a few years ago to enlarge the church it was split down the middle. The sides of the church were moved out, the new spaces were filled, and it was re-roofed.