Skjoldungen (Greenlandic: Saqqisikuik) is a large uninhabited island located on the King Frederick VI Coast in southeastern Greenland. It is officially part of the Sermersooq municipality. The island has a tundra climate, which is typical for its region.

The island was named by Wilhelm August Graah (1793–1863) after Skjoldungen, also known as Skioldungen, a title used for the descendants of the legendary King Skjold, who was a ruler in Norse mythology connected to the ancient Danish throne.

Geography

Skjoldungen is a coastal island on the southeastern coast of Greenland. It is found between two fjords: the Southern Skjoldungen Fjord (Greenlandic: Iittuarmiit) to the southwest and the Northern Skjoldungen Fjord (Greenlandic: Qimutuluittiip Kangertiva) to the northeast, which lies between Skjoldungen and one of the arms of the Thorland Peninsula. The Morke Sound (Greenlandic: Pulaqqaviip Ikaasaa) is a 700-meter (2,297-foot) wide waterway that connects both fjords in the northwest, separating the island from the mainland.

The island extends 49 kilometers (30 miles) in a northeast-to-southwest direction. Its highest point is Azimuthbjerg, a very high mountain 1,738 meters tall located at the northwest end of the island. Skjoldungen’s maximum width is 14 kilometers (9 miles). The island has rough and uneven land, including the Skjoldmøen, Bjarje, and Hjalte glaciers, as well as the Gedebukken, Pandebrasken, Skuren, and Sfinksen nunataks. The southern part of the island splits into two peninsulas that extend southeastward: the Roar Peninsula (Danish: Roar Halvø) and the Helge Peninsula (Danish: Helges Halvø). The southernmost point of the island is Cape Niels Juel, a narrow landform made of reddish-brown rock at the end of the Helge Peninsula. Anarnitsoq Island, which is 3.5 kilometers (2 miles) long, lies just to the west of the cape.

History

The eastern coast of Greenland was home to the Paleo-Eskimo people about 4,000 years ago. It is likely that the Skjoldungen Fjords were also lived in or visited by nomadic hunters during this time. At the Qoornoq site, which is on a small headland near the Southern Skjoldungen Fjord, archaeologists have found remains from later historical periods. These include graves from the Thule culture, showing that Inuit people lived on the island after the 13th century.

Inside the fjord on the western shore of Skjoldungen, there are remains of abandoned Inuit homes. These date back to 1938, when 150 Inuit from Ammassalik were persuaded by Danish officials to settle on the island. During World War II, a weather station was built and operated by the Allies on Skjoldungen, as well as another one on Cape Adelaer farther south along the coast. In 1965, the Inuit settlement was moved because of a national plan to gather Greenland’s population into larger towns. Another reason was that fishing and hunting could not support the population’s needs.

Today, the island is a popular place for tourists visiting Greenland by cruise ship because of its beautiful landscapes.