Nuuk for the Danish colony of South Greenland, while Godhavn (modern Qeqertarsuaq) was the capital of North Greenland until 1940 when the administration was unified in Godthaab. In 1733, Moravian missionaries received permission to begin a mission on the island; in 1747, there were enough converts to prompt the construction of the Moravian Brethren Mission House and the formal establishment of the mission as New Herrnhut (). This became the nucleus for present-day Nuuk as many Greenlanders from the southeastern coast left their territory to live at the mission station. From this base, further missions were established at Lichtenfels (1748), Lichtenau
Nuuk Qoornuup Qeqertarsua. The fjord widens into a bay dotted with skerries near its mouth, opening into Labrador Sea at approximately . Some to the northeast, reaching a height of , Sermitsiaq can be seen from almost everywhere in Nuuk. The mountain has given its name to the nationwide newspaper "Sermitsiaq". Closer to the town are the peaks of Store Malene, , and Lille Malene, . The magnetic declination at Nuuk is extreme. Nuuk has a maritime-influenced tundra climate (Köppen "ET") with cold, long, snowy winters and cool, short summers. On 22 December, the shortest day and longest night of the