Garðar

Garðar stood at the head of Einarsfjord in Greenland's Norse Eastern Settlement. Its cathedral of Saint Nicholas and the bishop's residence rose beside a substantial farm, whose barns could shelter large herds. In the twelfth century Bishop Arnald established his seat here, making Garðar the religious center of the Greenlanders. The estate controlled land and resources around the fjord and beyond. In 1409 two priests at Garðar certified a marriage celebrated the previous year at Hvalsey church. Their letter is among the last written signs of the medieval Norse community in Greenland. After that community disappeared, the fjord country was used by Inuit; in 1783 Anders Olsen and his family settled at Igaliku and resumed farming among the old ruins.