Daneborg, Greenland
Encyclopedia
Daneborg is a station on the south coast of Wollaston Foreland
peninsula of northeast Greenland
, at the mouth of Young Sund emptying into Greenland Sea
. Daneborg serves as the headquarters for the SIRIUS Patrol
, the dog sled patrollers of the Northeast Greenland National Park
, the largest national park
in the world. The year-round, permanent population of Daneborg is 12, with peaks in the summertime. It is the largest of only four permanently populated settlements in Northeast Greenland National Park, along with Danmarkshavn
(permanent population 8), Nord
(permanent population 5) and Mestersvig
(permanent population 2.)
Dødemandsbugten on the south coast of Clavering Ø, which had also been the location of the last Inuit
settlement in Northeast Greenland (1823), was destroyed by German World War II
invaders on March 13, 1943.
The station at the site of the current Daneborg was originally established in summer 1944, during World War II, under the command of Captain Strong of US Coast Guard Cutter Storis near the trapping station Sandodden, as an American
military weather station, and staffed with six men of the 8th Weather Squadron Detachment.
At the end of the war, the station was taken over by the North East Greenland Sledge Patrol as their new regional headquarters and named Daneborg. Part of the station was built by material left behind at the German wartime station Lille Koldeway further north, which had been established by Operation Edelweiß II.
Wollaston Foreland
Wollaston Foreland is a large peninsular land area bounded by Hochstetter Bay and Young Sund in East Greenland. It was named by William Scoresby in 1822 as a testimony of respect to William Hyde Wollaston....
peninsula of northeast Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
, at the mouth of Young Sund emptying into Greenland Sea
Greenland Sea
The Greenland Sea is a body of water that borders Greenland to the west, the Svalbard archipelago to the east, Fram Strait and the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Norwegian Sea and Iceland to the south. The Greenland Sea is often defined as part of the Arctic Ocean, sometimes as part of the...
. Daneborg serves as the headquarters for the SIRIUS Patrol
Slædepatruljen Sirius
Slædepatruljen Sirius or informally Siriuspatruljen is a unique elite Danish navy unit that conducts long-range reconnaissance patrolling and enforces Danish sovereignty in the arctic wilderness of Northern and Eastern Greenland, an area that includes the largest national park in the...
, the dog sled patrollers of the Northeast Greenland National Park
Northeast Greenland National Park
Northeast Greenland National Park is the largest national park in the world, with an area of , making the park larger than 163 countries. It is the only national park in Greenland, and the most northerly national park in the world, its most northerly point reaching slightly further than the most...
, the largest national park
National park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
in the world. The year-round, permanent population of Daneborg is 12, with peaks in the summertime. It is the largest of only four permanently populated settlements in Northeast Greenland National Park, along with Danmarkshavn
Danmarkshavn
Danmarkshavn is a small weather station located in the Northeast Greenland National Park, in Greenland. The permanent population of the base is 8. Danmarkshavn is also known as the northernmost location on the coast of Greenland Sea that non-icebreaking vessels can pass through...
(permanent population 8), Nord
Nord, Greenland
Station Nord is a military and scientific base in northeastern Greenland lying 1700 km north of the Arctic Circle at 81°36'°N. It is about from the geographic North Pole, on Prinsesse Ingeborg Halvø in northern Kronprins Christian Land, making it the northernmost permanent settlement and...
(permanent population 5) and Mestersvig
Mestersvig
Mestersvig is a military outpost with a 1,800 m gravel runway located in Scoresby Land, on the southern shore of the King Oscar Fjord in Northeast Greenland National Park...
(permanent population 2.)
History
The previous sledge patrol headquarters, Eskimonæs, 27 km southwest of later Daneborg atDødemandsbugten on the south coast of Clavering Ø, which had also been the location of the last Inuit
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
settlement in Northeast Greenland (1823), was destroyed by German World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
invaders on March 13, 1943.
The station at the site of the current Daneborg was originally established in summer 1944, during World War II, under the command of Captain Strong of US Coast Guard Cutter Storis near the trapping station Sandodden, as an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
military weather station, and staffed with six men of the 8th Weather Squadron Detachment.
At the end of the war, the station was taken over by the North East Greenland Sledge Patrol as their new regional headquarters and named Daneborg. Part of the station was built by material left behind at the German wartime station Lille Koldeway further north, which had been established by Operation Edelweiß II.