Qaqortoq Parish, Greenland Genealogy

Background

 * Qaqortoq, formerly Julianehåb, is a town in the Kujalleq municipality in southern Greenland, located near Cape Thorvaldsen.
 * With a population of 3,050 in 2020, it is the most populous town and the municipal capital in southern Greenland and the fourth or fifth-largest town on the island.
 * The present-day town was founded in 1775 by the Dano-Norwegian trader Anders Olsen, on behalf of the General Trading Company.
 * The town was christened Julianehaab after the Danish queen Juliane Marie, although it sometimes mistakenly appears as "Julianshaab".
 * The name was also sometimes anglicized as Juliana's Hope.
 * The town became a major center for the saddle-back seal trade and today remains the home of the Great Greenland sealskin tannery.
 * Until 31 December 2008 the town was the administrative center of Qaqortoq municipality. On 1 January 2009 Qaqortoq became the biggest town and the administrative center of Kujalleq municipality, when the three municipalities of South Greenland, meaning Qaqortoq, Narsaq, and Nanortalik were merged into one municipality.

Place Names
Farm names or small village names within this parish include these place names and variations:

Census Records

 * 1834-1870 Greenland, Denmark, Censuses, 1834-1870 (in Danish) at Ancestry - index & images, ($)
 * 1834-1921 Greenland Censuses, 1834-1921 (in Danish) - incomplete indexes
 * Dansk Demografisk Database - incomplete indexes

Church Records

 * 1778-1861 Greenland Kirkebøger, 1752-1861 at FamilySearch Catalog - index and images.Includes born and baptized, confirmed, married, dead and buried and communions for most parishes. Julianehåb 1778-1861 vols. 1-2
 * 1827-1934 Qaqortoq/Julianehåb Church Records - at Greenland National Archives Kirkebóger, images only, complete.
 * 1827-1927 Church books in Qaqortoq (Julianehåb) parish - at Danish Family Search, index and images, incomplete.

Church Location and Contact Information
Qaqortoq (Julianehåb) præstegæld Postboks 179 3920 Qaqortoq Greenland Telephone: (+299) 642041 Telefax: (+299) 641420 E-mail: qaqortoq@ilagiit.gl Website

Reading the Records
Because the Faroe Islands were under the jurisdiction of Denmark, many research resources relating to Denmark will be helpful in using Faroe Islands records.
 * Help Reading Danish Records:


 * Denmark Parish Register Headings provides translated examples of parish headings. You will be able to interpret much of what is in the records using these headings. Danish Word List covers typical  terms found in the records. Fixed and Moveable Feast Days for: Denmark will help you translate dates written in feast day form. Denmark surnames are patronymic and change every generation, so carefully study Denmark Names, Personal.


 * Help Reading Old Handwriting: 


 * Scandinavian Handwriting
 * Scandinavian Handwriting, part 3 - No part 2 available
 * Gothic Script and examples (Danish)
 * Gothic script help links (Danish)


 * Knowing What to Look for Next:


 * To understand the best research strategies for these records, see Denmark Church Records Christenings Guide.