Do you know where is located and what is the name of the northernmost city in the world? Surely not. Not only that, even if I write his name now, the first time you are unlikely to be able to read this word. The northernmost city in the world is called Illokkortoormiut !!! Unexpectedly, isn’t it?
But there is nothing unexpected in this name. It’s just that this city is located in Greenland, the indigenous population of which is the Eskimos, and they have such a hard-to-pronounce language.
The Eskimos and their country are called in their own way “Kalaallit Nunaat”, which translates as “Land of people.” By the way, they consider the name Eskimos offensive, because in their language it translates as “raw food eater” or “one who eats raw fish.” They call themselves Inuit, which means people.
So, the northernmost city of the land of Illoccortormiut which means “Big House” is located just on the lands of the Inuit, at a northern latitude of 70 ° 48. Given that the Arctic Circle is located at a latitude of 66 ° 33, it becomes clear that Illoccortormiut is a distant Arctic, the real Arctic. This is how this town looks at the end of the world in winter.
The Danish name for this city is Scorsbisund, named after the Norwegian explorer and whaler William Scorsby, who in 1822 drew up a map of this region. The Illoccortormiut was founded in 1925 by the 70 settlers who landed here, led by Einar Mikkelsen, who arrived on the Gustav Holm ship. This place was teeming with narwhals, walruses, seals and polar bears and the settlers enthusiastically explored new rich hunting grounds. They built this settlement, which over time received the status of a city, although by our standards it is rather a small village.
Illokkortoormiut is located on the east coast of Greenland at the mouth of the largest fjord in the world – Kangertitivak, Danish name Scorsbisund. The length of this fjord is almost 350 km, and the maximum depth is about 1,500 m. There are many streams in the fjord, the largest of which is Milna Land. The length of this island is 113 km. and the width reaches up to 45 km. an area of almost 3913 sq.km. The town itself is surrounded by rocky mountains where snow does not melt year-round.
Illoqqortoormiut for a long time was the administrative center of the commune Illokkortoormiut, located on an area of 235,000 square kilometers. But in 2009, this commune as such was abolished and merged with the commune of Sermerssook. The population of Illokkortoormiuta is about 500 people. It is the most remote city of Greenland and the most northern city of the Earth. This town also has its own attractions. This is what the city church looks like.
And here is the local hotel. The conditions are of course unpretentious, but one or another night you can have a rest.
