Garðar, Greenland facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Garðar

Harvesting the hay in Vatnahverfi, Garðar
Location in Greenland
Location	Kujalleq, Greenland
Coordinates	60°59′13.56″N 45°25′22.44″W / 60.9871000°N 45.4229000°W / 60.9871000; -45.4229000

Garðar was a very important place in Greenland long ago. It was where the main church leader, called a bishop, lived for the Norse people who settled there. It was also the first Catholic church area, or diocese, ever set up in the Americas.

Garðar's Church History

How did Garðar become so important? Old stories, called sagas, say a rich farmer named Sokki Þórisson had a great idea. He wanted Greenland to have its own bishop. The King of Norway, Sigurd I Magnusson, agreed! Most of the church leaders who came to Garðar were from Norway.

The First Bishops

The first bishop of Garðar was named Arnaldur. He was chosen in 1124 and arrived in Greenland in 1126. He started building the cathedral, a big church dedicated to Saint Nicholas, who is the patron saint of sailors.

At first, the church in Garðar was connected to a larger church area in Germany. But in 1126, it became part of the Archdiocese of Lund in what is now Sweden. Later, in 1152, it joined the new Archdiocese of Nidaros in Norway. This meant Garðar was part of a bigger church network that included Iceland and other islands.

After Arnaldur, many other bishops served in Garðar:

• The second bishop was Jón Knútr, who served from 1153 to 1186.
• The third bishop was Jón Árnason, also known as Smyril. He took office in 1189. He even traveled to Rome in 1202–1203 and met Pope Innocent III. He died in Garðar in 1209 and was likely buried in the cathedral.
• Helgi became bishop in 1212 and served until 1230.
• Nikulás was chosen in 1234 and arrived in 1239. He died in 1242.
• Ólafr became bishop in 1242 and arrived in 1247. He was bishop until the 1280s, but he spent a lot of time away from Greenland.
• Þórdr was the next bishop, serving from 1289 until 1309.
• Árni was bishop from 1315 to 1347. For a short time, people thought he had died, and a new bishop was chosen. But when they found out Árni was still alive, the new bishop stepped down.
• After Árni died in 1347, there was no bishop in Garðar for 19 years.
• Bishop Álfr was chosen in 1365 and was the last bishop to actually live and work in Garðar. He served until 1378.

The End of the Diocese

The church area in Greenland slowly stopped working in the 15th century. This happened because ships from Norway stopped traveling to Greenland. Without regular contact, the community became isolated.

List of Garðar Bishops

A crosier (bishop's staff) and ring from a 13th-century Greenlandic bishop. This might have belonged to Óláfr (1247–1280).

Bishops Who Never Visited

Even after the church in Garðar stopped working, new bishops were still chosen for the area until 1537. However, it seems none of these later bishops ever actually visited Greenland. They were bishops "in name only."

Garðar Today

Today, the village of Igaliku is located where Garðar used to be. People have been studying the old ruins of Garðar since the 1830s. The cathedral was a main focus for archaeologists, and it was fully dug up in 1926 by a Danish archaeologist named Poul Nørlund.

Many ruins from the Norse settlement are still visible in Igaliku. You can see the stone foundations of the old buildings. These foundations show how big the settlement was and where the different buildings stood. The most important ruin is the Garðar Cathedral. It was a cross-shaped church built from sandstone in the 12th century. It was about 27 meters long and 16 meters wide. There were also two large barns on the site, big enough to hold up to 160 cows!