Question 1

Hvalsey on Your Own

Accepted Answer

A landing here is a walk among ruins: the church, the remains of a great hall and farm buildings, and the line of the old churchyard wall. Around Qaqortoq, travel is by boat, helicopter or on foot, so the visit lasts as long as your ship's landing. The church: Walk inside the walls to see the deep window openings, which widen toward the inside. The hall: The ruins of a large farm building lie just to the west of the church, and they include a banqueting hall about 8 m by 5 m. The churchyard: Its boundary wall can still be traced in the grass around the church. Leave the stones as they are: The ruins are protected as part of a World Heritage Site. Getting back on time: All-aboard is usually about 30 minutes before sailing, and your ship posts the exact time. A ship will not wait for passengers touring on their own. Watch the clock: West Greenland keeps UTC−2 in winter and UTC−1 in summer, which may not match ship's time, so go by the times your ship gives you.

Question 2

Getting Around Hvalsey

Accepted Answer

At Hvalsey you get around on foot, over grass and rough ground between the ruins. The town of Qaqortoq, 19 km away, is reached by boat, by helicopter or on foot. Boat is the usual way to reach Hvalsey from Qaqortoq. A long-distance hike of about five days runs from Qaqortoq to the sheep-farming settlement of Igaliku, passing Hvalsey on the way.

Question 3

Tipping in Greenland

Accepted Answer

Prices in Greenland include tips and gratuity. If you find the service at a restaurant or from a guide good, a tip is appreciated. Currency: Greenland uses the Danish krone (DKK). Some souvenir sellers accept foreign notes, but not coins.

Question 4

Norse Ruins and Inuit Heritage in Southern Greenland

Accepted Answer

Hvalsey belongs to Kujataa, the farming landscape of South Greenland where the Norse farmed from the 10th to the 15th century and where farming began again in the 1780s. The Qaqortukulooq part of the site has 11 Norse and 2 Thule sites. A church built to last: The walls are about 1.5 m thick and made of carefully fitted fieldstones, some weighing 4 to 5 tonnes. The building was plastered with crushed shells and would have stood out white against the hillside. A white place: Qaqortoq means "the white place," and the town may have taken its name from the white church. A royal farm: In the 14th century Hvalsey belonged to the kings of Norway, and a report of about 1360 calls the farm Þjóðhildarstaðir. An Inuit legend: A Greenlandic story tells of a feud between a Norse chief, Ungortoq, and an Inuit leader, K'aissape, whose warriors burned Hvalsey. Archaeologists have found no sign of a great fire. Farming today: Farming returned to the region in the 1780s, at Igaliku, and the land around Hvalsey is part of a sheep farm today.

Question 5

Five Hundred Years of Norse Greenland and the Silence After 1408

Accepted Answer

The Norse farmed the fjords around Hvalsey for almost five hundred years, from the late 10th century to the mid-15th. Hvalsey church saw the last recorded event of that whole period. Late 10th century: Norse settlers led by Erik the Red arrived in South Greenland and called it the Eastern Settlement. Icelandic tradition says the Hvalsey farm was founded by Erik's uncle, Thorkell Farserk. Around 1000: Christianity reached Greenland, and churches began to be built. About 1300: The stone church that stands today was built, on a site where an earlier church may have stood. 13th century: At its peak the Eastern Settlement had its own bishop and 200 to 300 farms, and Thule Inuit had reached the area. September 1408: Thorstein Olafsson and Sigrid Björnsdóttir, both Icelanders, were married in Hvalsey church. They later settled in Iceland, and the letters recording their wedding are the last written record of the Norse in Greenland. After 1408: The last Norse settlements in Greenland slowly died out over the next hundred years. 1721 to 1723: The missionary Hans Egede's expedition found the Norse colonies gone, and in 1723 Egede visited the ruins and found them much as they are today. 2017: Hvalsey became part of the Kujataa World Heritage Site with four other Norse and Inuit farming areas. To learn more ashore: Qaqortoq Museum, near the fountain square in Qaqortoq in a trading house of 1804, has permanent exhibits on the Dorset, Thule and Norse cultures. Check opening times before you go.

Question 6

Hvalsey with Children

Accepted Answer

Hvalsey suits children who like history or the outdoors, as long as they can manage a boat landing and rough ground. Bring warm layers for everyone, since the wind is cool on most days. Younger children: Look out for the sheep that graze around the ruins, and walk inside the church, whose gables still stand 5 to 6 m high. School age: Ask them to find the biggest stone in the church walls, since some weigh 4 to 5 tonnes. The church held only about 30 to 35 people. Teenagers: The story of the 1408 wedding, the last written news of the Norse in Greenland, and the mystery of why they disappeared, are good starting points for a conversation on the boat back.

Question 7

Accessibility at Hvalsey

Accepted Answer

Hvalsey is reached by boat, and the ruins stand on open farmland at the head of the fjord. Ask your ship in advance how the landing works and whether crew can help you ashore. The church is about 70 m from the water. The land around the ruins is sheep pasture.

Hvalsey, Greenland

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What Cruise Travelers Should Know About Hvalsey