Brattahlíð

Toward the end of the 10th century, around 985 CE, the Icelandic outlaw Erik the Red sailed west and settled the fertile inner reaches of Eiriksfjord (today's Tunulliarfik Fjord), giving his farm the name Brattahlíð, "the steep slope." It became the chief estate of the Eastern Settlement, the larger of the two Norse colonies in Greenland, and the home of his son Leif Erikson, credited in the sagas with reaching Vinland in North America. Norse tradition holds that Erik's wife Þjóðhildr took up Christianity and had a small turf-built chapel raised a little apart from the pagan hall. A structure fitting that account came to light in 1961: a tiny church whose interior measured about 2 by 3.5 metres, ringed by a churchyard that held the remains of some 144 people, buried without grave goods or runic markers in Christian fashion. Excavation has also traced substantial farm buildings and byres, including one hall roughly 53 by 14 metres, along with the foundations of a later stone church. The estate is recorded as the host of the first Greenlandic Þing, an assembly modelled on the Icelandic Althing, and its finds reflect the colony's trading ties to Iceland and Europe. The Norse farmed, kept livestock and hunted here for roughly four and a half centuries; Erik and his descendants occupied the site until about the mid-15th century, when the Eastern Settlement faded amid a cooling climate and failing trade. Its ruins are among the clearest surviving traces of Norse life at the far edge of the medieval world, and in 2017 the area was inscribed as part of the Kujataa UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Norse remains lie scattered across the green sheep-farming valley behind the small settlement of Qassiarsuk: low turf-and-stone wall foundations of dwellings, byres and churches, marked and interpreted along a walking route among the modern farms. The best-known attractions are two full-scale reconstructions raised in 2000 for the millennium of Leif Erikson's voyage: a replica of Þjóðhildr's turf-walled chapel with its green sod roof, and a Norse longhouse showing how the household lived, worked and slept around a central hearth. A statue of Leif Erikson, unveiled the same year, looks out over the fjord. Interpretive signs explain the archaeology, and from the slopes there are wide views across Tunulliarfik Fjord, often with icebergs drifting on the water and the ice cap visible in the distance.

Qassiarsuk sits across Tunulliarfik Fjord from Narsarsuaq, which has South Greenland's main airport; the two lie only about five kilometres apart but there are no roads linking them. Visitors typically make the short crossing by local boat transfer from the Narsarsuaq waterfront, arranged through tour operators or the settlement's guesthouse. The reconstructed church and longhouse and the Norse ruins can be explored on foot, and guided walks are offered in the summer season. Simple accommodation and hostel-style lodging are available in the village. Access to the reconstructions may involve a small fee or guide arrangement, and services are seasonal, so confirm current details, transfers and opening times in advance through Visit South Greenland and local operators rather than assuming year-round availability.