Ilulissat is the third largest settlement in Greenland.
Ilulissat is the third largest settlement in Greenland, this lovely town is also known as Jacob’s havnen. An amazing thing to see in Ilulissat is the icebergs crowded in front of town which jostle for the best position. This small town has picturesque coloured houses, souvenir shops, local crafts, all set beside a small harbour.
The occasional visitors can enjoy the local wicked pub and good nightlife. The main attraction is the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Illulissat Isbrae (glacier), which flows from the Ilulissat icecap into the fjord. The glacier’s movements can be seen by the naked eye with 20 billion tonnes of icebergs calving off every year.
Many notable residents were born here:
Knud Rasmussen (1879–1933), noted polar explorer and anthropologist, referred to as the "father of Eskimology". Born in Ilulissat, Rasmussen was the first man to cross the Northwest Passage via dog sled. He remains well known in Greenland, Denmark and among Canadian Inuit.
Jørgen Brønlund (1877–1907), was also a polar explorer born in Ilulissat, He grew up with Rasmussen and accompanied him, along with Harald Moltke and Ludvig Mylius-Erichsen, on the Danish Literary Expedition (1902–1904) to examine Inuit culture. In 1906 he joined Mylius-Erichsen and Peter Høegh Hagen on the Danmark-ekspeditionen to map the northernmost regions of Greenland. Jørgen Brønlund Fjord in Peary Land is named after him.
Jens Rosing (1925–2008), a Greenlandic artist notable for designing the coat of arms of Greenland, numerous Greenlandic postage stamps, as well as illustrated children's books and water colours − was born in Ilulissat.