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Tjodhildes Church

Tjodhilde was credited for Erik the Red’s conversion to Christianity and the building of the first church on the North American continent.

ALL ABOUT GREENLAND’S VIKINGS

What was life like when Leif Eriksson and Freydís Eiríksdóttir lived in South Greenland?

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Tjodhilde’s husband, Erik the Red, had the honour of being the first European to set foot in Greenland, and their son, Leif Eriksson, was the man who not only brought Christianity to the Viking community in Greenland, but was also the first European to make landfall in North America, some 500 years before Columbus.

Tjodhilde herself, however, also achieved remarkable feats: It was she who was behind the first Christian church on the North American continent in Brattahlid, and it was also she who converted her warlike, pagan husband to Christianity.

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Blue Ice Explorer: Easy hiking package

Blue Ice Explorer

Easy hiking package. 8 days

Tour package for individual travellers in the best hiking area in Greenland! Accommodation at farms and in settlements.

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Blue Ice Explorer – South Greenland 5 days – active

Blue Ice Explorer

South Greenland 5 days – active

A 5-day getaway from Iceland for the active traveller with hiking around Igaliku, Qassiarsuk and Narsarsuaq.

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Blue Ice Explorer: South Greenland – Short and Intensive

Blue Ice Explorer

South Greenland - Short and Intensive

Experience Greenland on a getaway from Iceland. Wonderful day-hikes with easy access to South Greenland's blue icebergs and history.

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Greenland Travel: Summer impressions in Greenland

Greenland Travel

Summer impressions in Greenland

Greenland’s most popular sites: the Greenland Ice Sheet at Kangerlussuaq, the capital of Nuuk and, the world-famous Ilulissat Ice Fjord.

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RECONSTRUCTION IN QASSIARSUK

Today, more than 1000 years later, Tjodhilde’s wish concerning the erection of a church has in a way been fulfilled once again.

Since the start of the new millennium, travellers to the south of Greenland have had the chance to visit accurate reconstructions of Tjodhilde’s Church and Erik the Red’s longhouse.

The reconstructions in Qassiarsuk, which is the Greenlandic name for Brattahlid, are built in turf and timber not far from where the original church was sited.

The internal dimensions of the church are just 2 x 3.5 metres (6.5 x 11.5 feet) and although it is a bit of a squeeze, there is actually room for 20 – 25 people.

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The Greenlandic kayak Kayaker near mountainside. By Mads Pihl The axe of Leif Erikson - the statue overlooking Qassiarsuk in South Greenland, by Mads Pihl Leif Eriksson
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