Nuuk

Nuuk, formerly Godthåb, administrative capital and largest city of Greenland, located at the entrance of the Godthåbsfjord (Bay of Good Hope) on the southwestern coast of the island. Nuuk's ice-free harbor helps support an extensive fishing industry. Principal fish products, processed primarily for foreign export, include cod and halibut. Nuuk is a cultural and educational center; Greenland's first and only university, the University of Greenland (1974), is here. A scientific station and oil- and gas-storage facilities are also located in the city.

Norse colonists maintained a settlement at Nuuk from the 9th through the 15th centuries, then abandoned the site. Danish settlers established the present city in 1721 as Godthåb (Danish for “good hope”); today, most of Nuuk's inhabitants are Inuit. Because of improvements in health care, Nuuk's population has more than doubled since the early 1950s. Population (2001 estimate) 14,000.