Garðar, Greenland

Garðar, at present-day Igaliku in Greenland’s former Eastern Settlement, was the episcopal seat of the Norse settlements and the center of the medieval Catholic diocese of Greenland, the first Catholic diocese established in the Americas. Beginning with Bishop Arnaldur’s arrival in 1126, it served as the bishop’s seat through successive medieval bishops, reflecting Greenland’s ties to the wider Norse world but also its isolation. The diocese declined in the 15th century as ships from Norway stopped arriving. Today Garðar survives as an archaeological site, where cathedral ruins and extensive farm buildings show it was both a church center and a substantial farming estate.

Kujalleq · Greenland