Western Settlement

Western Settlement, Greenland

The Western Settlement (Vestribyggð) was a group of farms and communities established by Norsemen from Iceland around AD 985 in medieval Greenland. Despite its name, the Western Settlement was more north than west of its companion and located at the head of the long Nuup Kangerlua fjord (inland from Nuuk, the present Greenlandic capital).

At its peak, the Western Settlement probably had about 1,000 inhabitants, about a fourth the size of the Eastern Settlement, owing to its shorter growing season. The largest of the Western Settlement farms was Sandnæs. Ruins of almost 95 farms have been found in the Western settlement.

Much less is known about the Western Settlement than the Eastern Settlement, as there is very little mention and no direct description of it in any of the medieval sources on Greenland. The Norse settlement was last mentioned by the traveller Ivar Bardarson, who wrote to the Bishop of Bergen to describe conditions he observed sometime between 1341–60. In his voyage to the Western Settlement, he found only vacant farms.

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Western Settlement, Greenland
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Founded: 985 AD
Category: Prehistoric and archaeological sites in Greenland

More Information

en.wikipedia.org
archive.archaeology.org

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4.8/5 (based on Google user reviews)

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User Reviews

Joe Damone (2 years ago)
Great venue for a Catskills Wedding. I have attended several weddings there and they were all great. Kim and her crew do a great job!
Laura Goldner (2 years ago)
My daughter had her wedding here yesterday. What a gorgeous place to have a wedding!!!! WOW!!! Everything went perfectly! The place was really absolutely gorgeous! The owner ( her name slipped my mind) was just a joy to work with. My daughter Cieara said she was so easy going and was on top of everything. All the guests had such wonderful things to say about the place and the wedding it self. I personally was worried about how big the dance for is but it fit everyone and it wasn't crowded at all. We all had room to dance without being on top of each other. Cieara had 120 guests and most of which were on the dance floor. The farm house is beautiful where the wedding party stayed. It's huge! The place was so nice with very large rooms. You will not have to worry about where you're going to take pictures the property has so so many options. If you're considering having your wedding here I highly recommend it!! Don't even give it a second thought. Pictures really don't do this place justice. It's a place you have to go and see. We are from CT.and many of the guests had to travel much further than CT and they all said how beautiful the ride was and so glad they came. Really a gorgeous place.
Miriam Krent (2 years ago)
I cannot recommend this venue enough! If you are looking to have a picturesque barn wedding in the Catskills, this is the place to do it! The property is absolutely gorgeous and it was so convenient to be able to stay at a farmhouse on site during the wedding weekend. Kim was super helpful from the outset: she provided us with a comprehensive list of vendors in the area, she answered questions throughout the planning process, and she made the actual weekend run so smoothly! We did not have to worry about a thing (even the variable weather!) during the weekend, Kim took care of it all. Many of our guests came up to us during the wedding to ask where we had found such a perfect venue. Don't miss out on this special place!!
Nancy Krent (2 years ago)
Absolutely perfect venue! The space is gorgeous, the setting is magical and Kim, the owner, could not have been more helpful!! I cannot recommend The Inn at West Settlement highly enough.
Ronda Taraboletti (3 years ago)
Very nice facility
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