Ilimanaq

{{Infobox settlement | name = Ilimanaq | other_name = Claushavn | image_skyline = Ilimanaq-aerial.jpg | imagesize = 300px | image_caption = Aerial view of Ilimanaq | image_shield = | shield_size = | pushpin_map = Greenland | pushpin_label_position = | pushpin_map_caption = Location within Greenland | pushpin_mapsize = 300 | subdivision_type = Sovereign state | subdivision_name = {{Flag|Kingdom of Denmark}} | subdivision_type1 = Autonomous country | subdivision_name1 = {{Flag|Greenland}} | subdivision_type2 = Municipality | subdivision_name2 = Avannaata | subdivision_type3 = | subdivision_name3 = | government_footnotes = <ref>{{cite news |url=http://sermitsiaq.gl/indland/article44842.ece |title=Ilimanaq får natur og miljø-pris |work=Sermitsiaq |date=19 June 2008 |language=da |access-date=11 July 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080703222229/http://sermitsiaq.gl/indland/article44842.ece |archive-date=3 July 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> | leader_title = Mayor | leader_name = Fritz Johansen | established_title = Founded | established_date = 1741 | population_as_of = 1 January 2025 | population_total = 55 | timezone1 = Western Greenland Time | utc_offset1 = −02:00 | timezone1_DST = Western Greenland Summer Time | utc_offset1_DST = −01:00 | coordinates = {{coord|69|04|52|N|51|06|55|W|region:GL|display=inline,title}} | postal_code_type = Postal code | postal_code = 3952 Ilulissat | website = }}

'''Ilimanaq''' ({{IPA|kl|ilimanɑq}}), also known in Danish as '''Claushavn''', is a settlement in Avannaata municipality in western Greenland. It had 55 inhabitants in 2025.<ref>{{cite web|title = Population by Localities|url = http://bank.stat.gl/pxweb/en/Greenland/Greenland__BE__BE01__BE0120/BEXST4.PX/?rxid=a1551b20-d1d5-4bcf-a80c-de114c001595|publisher = Statistical Greenland|access-date = 2020-07-19|archive-date = 2020-07-19|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200719030202/http://bank.stat.gl/pxweb/en/Greenland/Greenland__BE__BE01__BE0120/BEXST4.PX/?rxid=a1551b20-d1d5-4bcf-a80c-de114c001595|url-status = dead}}</ref> The modern name of the village is Kalaallisut for "Place of Expectations".

== Geography ==

=== Climate ===

Ilimanaq is located on the eastern shore of Disko Bay, just south of the mouth<ref name="map">{{cite map|publisher=Greenland Tourism a/s|title=Vandrekort Nordgrønland, Ilulissat|cartography=Compukort, Denmark|edition=1996}}</ref> of the Ilulissat Icefjord ({{langx|kl|Ilulissat Kangerlua}}).

== History == {{Unreferenced section|date=October 2025}} The old Danish name of the settlement derived from the Dutch whaler Klaes Pieterz Torp. The whalers were active in the region from 1719 to 1732, leaving a trail of names behind {{ndash}} the settlement of Oqaatsut to the north was originally a Dutch whaling station named "Rodebay". Claushavn was founded in 1741, around the same time as Ilulissat.

In 1752, Niels Brønlund Bloch, Poul Egede's cousin, established a mission in Ilimanaq.

After 1880, the settlement lost its importance. The church from 1908 and the old colonial houses have been renovated. Ilimanaq is the starting point for hikes to Qasigiannguit and for boat trips in the ice fjord.{{Citation needed|date=March 2026}}

== Infrastructure == {{Unreferenced section|date=October 2025}} The main sources of livelihood are hunting, fishing and tourism. Two of the settlement's houses, which were former hunting lodges, are now rented out to tourists. The village has both street lights and marked paths in the immediate area. There is also a local Pilersuisoq supermarket.

== Transport ==

=== Air === {{main|Ilimanaq Heliport}} Air Greenland serves the village as part of government contract, with winter-only helicopter flights between Ilimanaq Heliport and Ilulissat Airport.<ref name="gl">{{cite web |url=http://book.airgreenland.com/ |publisher=Air Greenland |title=Booking system |access-date=6 July 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100422211033/http://book.airgreenland.com/ |archive-date=22 April 2010 }}</ref> Settlement flights in the Disko Bay are unique in that they are operated only during winter and spring. During winter, the nearby Qasigiannguit town to the south of Ilimanaq can be reached on foot, or by dogsled.

=== Sea === During summer and autumn, when the waters of Disko Bay are navigable, communication between settlements is by sea only, serviced by Diskoline.<ref>[http://diskoline.gl/index.php?page_label=schedule Diskoline timetable] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090522055345/http://diskoline.gl/index.php?page_label=schedule |date=2009-05-22 }}</ref> The ferry links Ilimanaq with Ilulissat, from where ferry connections are available to Oqaatsut, Qeqertaq, Saqqaq, Qeqertarsuaq, and towns and settlements in the Aasiaat Archipelago.

== Population == The population of Ilimanaq has been stable in the last two decades.<ref name="statbank">[http://bank.stat.gl/ Statistics Greenland] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110812052835/http://bank2.stat.gl/ |date=2011-08-12 }}</ref>

{{wide image|Ilimanaq-population-dynamics.png|1000px|alt=Ilimanaq population dynamics|Ilimanaq population growth dynamics in the last two decades. ''Source: Statistics Greenland''<ref name="statbank"/>}}

==References== {{reflist|2}}

Category:1741 establishments in North America Category:18th-century establishments in Greenland Category:Villages of Ilulissat Category:Disko Bay Category:Populated places in Greenland Category:Populated places of Arctic Greenland Category:Populated places established in 1741 Category:Avannaata