Qaqortoq, principal town in southwestern Greenland, on Julianehåb Bugt, an inlet in the Davis Strait. Founded in 1755 by Anders Olsen, a Norwegian merchant, and named for Queen Juliana Maria of Denmark, it is a seaport and trading station supported by an airport. Fish and shrimp processing, tanning, fur production, and ship maintenance and repair are important activities, but the economy is based primarily on educational and administrative services. North of the town is Qassiarsuk, a settlement built at the site of Brattahlid, Erik the Red’s homestead and the first Norse settlement (980s) in Greenland. Pop. (2007) 3,238.