Hvalsey facts for kids
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Qaqortukulooq
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The ruins of the church at Hvalsey
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 Location in Greenland
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| Location | Close to Qaqortoq, Greenland |
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| Region | Greenland |
| Coordinates | 60°49′43″N 45°46′58″W / 60.82861°N 45.78278°W |
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| Associated with | Norsemen |
Hvalsey (which means "Whale Island") is a place near Qaqortoq, Greenland. It's famous for having the biggest and best-kept ruins from the Norsemen (also called Vikings) in an area known as the Eastern Settlement. In 2017, Hvalsey became a UNESCO World Heritage List site, as part of the Kujataa Greenland area.
History of Hvalsey
According to an old Icelandic book called the Landnámabók (which means "Book of Settlements"), a farm was started here in the late 900s. It was built by Þorkell Farserkur, who was the uncle of a famous Viking named Erik the Red.
Later, around the 1360s, the farm was known as Þjóðhildarstaðir. At that time, it belonged to the King of Norway. Records from that period say:
- Next to Einar's Firth (a type of fjord or inlet) is Hvalsey Fjord.
- There's a church there called Hvalsey Fjord Church.
- This church served the whole fjord and also the next one, Kambstad Fjord.
- In this fjord, there was a big farm that belonged to the king, called Thjodhild's Stead.
The Hvalsey farm was a very important place in South Greenland. The site has the ruins of two large stone halls. There were also 14 other houses near a church. The older hall is about 14 meters (46 feet) long and 3 or 4 meters (10-13 feet) wide. The newer hall is very well preserved and measures 8 meters (26 feet) by 5 meters (16 feet).
The Hvalsey Church
The church at Hvalsey was first built in the early 1100s. It might have been built by skilled stonemasons from Scotland or Norway, because similar buildings are found in Norway and Orkney. The church was probably kept in good shape because it belonged to the king.
The church was built very well using carefully chosen stones. Some of these stones weigh more than five tons! The walls are up to 1.5 meters (5 feet) thick. The outside of the church measures 16 meters (52 feet) long by 8 meters (26 feet) wide. The pointed parts of the roof (called gables) still stand 5 to 6 meters (16-20 feet) high from the floor. When it was first built, they might have been 2 meters (6.5 feet) taller. The side walls, which would have been higher when new, now stand about 4 meters (13 feet) tall. The building was covered with a plaster made from crushed mussel shells, so it would have looked white when it was used. Its roof was made of timber and turf.
A wedding at the Hvalsey church in 1408 is the very last event we know about from the Norse settlement in Greenland. Two years later, the newlyweds, Þorsteinn Ólafsson (a ship captain) and Sigríður Björnsdóttir, went back to Norway. Then they sailed to Iceland and settled on Sigríður's family farm in 1413. We know all these details because of letters exchanged between church leaders in Iceland and the Vatican.
Archaeological discoveries show that over the next 100 years, the Norse settlements in Greenland slowly disappeared. It wasn't until 1721 that a Danish-Norwegian missionary named Hans Egede found that the Norse colonies in Southern Greenland were gone.
Hvalsey Folklore
The Greenlandic Inuit people have an old story about why the Norse people at Hvalsey disappeared and why their houses and churches are now ruins. This legend says that the reason was a fight between a local Norse leader named Ungortoq and a brave young Inuit warrior named K'aissape.
K'aissape's younger brother was killed by Ungortoq. To get revenge, Inuit warriors led by K'aissape came to Hvalsey by sea in kayaks. They were disguised to look like an iceberg. Then, they burned the Norse settlers inside their houses. Ungortoq and his family managed to escape the attack. But K'aissape eventually found and killed Ungortoq and his whole family at another Norse farm near Cape Farewell.
See also
In Spanish: Hvalsey para niños
