The town was founded as Upernavik in 1772. From the former name of its
island, it was sometimes known as
Women's Island; its name was also
sometimes Anglicized to "Uppernavik". In 1824, the Kingittorsuaq
Runestone was found outside the town. It bears runic characters left by
Vikings, probably from the late 13th century. The runic characters list the
names of three Vikings and mention the construction of a rock cairn nearby.
This is the furthest north that any Viking
artifacts have been found, other than those small artifacts that could have
been carried north by Inuit
