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Svalbard, previously known as Spitsbergen or Spitzbergen, is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. North of mainland Europe, it lies about midway between the northern coast of Norway and the North Pole. The islands of the group range from 74° to 81° north latitude, and from 10° to 35° east longitude. The largest island is Spitsbergen, followed in size by Nordaustlandet and Edgeøya. The largest settlement is Longyearbyen on the west coast of Spitsbergen.
Spitsbergen is the largest and the only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago in northern Norway in the Arctic Ocean.
Longyearbyen is the world's northernmost settlement with a population greater than 1,000, and the largest inhabited area of Svalbard, Norway. It stretches along the foot of the left bank of the Longyear Valley and on the shore of Adventfjorden, the short estuary leading into Isfjorden on the west coast of Spitsbergen, the island's broadest inlet. As of 2002 Longyearbyen Community Council became an official Norwegian municipality. It is the seat of the Governor of Svalbard. The town's mayor is Arild Olsen.
Operation Gauntlet was an Allied Combined Operation from 25 August until 3 September 1941, during the Second World War. Canadian, British and the Norwegian armed forces in exile landed on the Norwegian island of Spitzbergen in the Svalbard Archipelago, 650 mi (1,050 km) south of the North Pole.
Ny-Ålesund is a small town in Oscar II Land on the island of Spitsbergen in Svalbard, Norway. It is situated on the Brøgger peninsula (Brøggerhalvøya) and on the shore of the bay of Kongsfjorden. The company town is owned and operated by Kings Bay, which provides facilities for permanent research activities by 19 institutions from 11 countries. The town is ultimately owned by the Ministry of Climate and Environment and is not incorporated. Ny-Ålesund has an all-year permanent population of 30 to 35, with the summer population reaching 114. Its facilities include Ny-Ålesund Airport, Hamnerabben, Svalbard Rocket Range, a port and Ny-Ålesund Town and Mine Museum, as well as a number of buildings dedicated to research and environmental monitoring activities. It is the northernmost functional civilian settlement in the world.
Barentsburg is the second-largest settlement in Svalbard, Norway, with about 455 inhabitants (2020). A coal mining town, the settlement was almost entirely made up of Russian and Ukrainian nationals. Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, most of the Ukrainian citizens were reported to have left.
The polar archipelago of Svalbard was first discovered by Willem Barentsz in 1596, although there is disputed evidence of use by Pomors or Norsemen. Whaling for bowhead whales started in 1611, dominated by English and Dutch companies, though other countries participated. At that time there was no agreement about sovereignty. Whaling stations, the largest being Smeerenburg, were built during the 17th century, but gradually whaling decreased. Hunting was carried out from the 17th century by Pomors, but from the 19th century it became more dominated by Norwegians.
The Svalbard Treaty recognises the sovereignty of Norway over the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, at the time called Spitsbergen. The exercise of sovereignty is, however, subject to certain stipulations, and not all Norwegian law applies. The treaty restricts military uses of the archipelago, but it is not demilitarized. The signatories were given equal rights to engage in commercial activities on the islands. As of 2024, Norway and Russia make use of this right.
Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani (SNSK), or simply Store Norske, is a Norwegian coal mining company based on the Svalbard archipelago. It was formed in 1916, after a Norwegian purchase of the American Arctic Coal Company (ACC).
Arktikugol is a Russian coal mining unitary enterprise which operates on the island of Spitsbergen in Svalbard, Norway. Owned by the government of Russia, Arktikugol currently performs limited mining in Barentsburg. It has carried out mining operations in the towns of Pyramiden and Grumant, which it still owns, and once operated a port at Colesbukta. The company is headquartered in Moscow and is the official agency through which Russia, and previously the Soviet Union, exercised its Svalbard policy.
John Munro Longyear Sr. was an American businessman and noted developer of timber and mineral lands in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and Minnesota who became the central figure behind the Arctic Coal Company, which surveyed and mined coalfields on Spitsbergen, from 1905 to 1916. This company developed a settlement on Spitsbergen able to accommodate up to around 500 people which became known as Longyear City, now Longyearbyen, adjacent Advent Bay.
Operation Haudegen was the name of a German operation during the Second World War to establish meteorological stations on the Svalbard archipelago in Norway. In September 1944, the submarine U-307 and the supply ship Carl J. Busch transported the men of Unternehmen Haudegen to the island. The station was active from 9 September 1944. On May 8, 1945, the staff received a message from their commanders in Tromsø that Germany had surrendered and the war was over. After that, radio contact was lost. The soldiers were capable of asking for support only in August 1945 and on 6 September, were picked up by a Norwegian seal hunting vessel and surrendered to its captain. The group of men were the last German troops to surrender after the Second World War.
Billefjorden is the central fjord of the three branching from the innermost part of the Isfjorden to the northeast, in Svalbard, Norway. It is 30 km long and 5–8 km wide. Billefjorden lies between Dickson Land to the northwest and Bünsow Land in the southeast. Located on its northwestern shore is the former Russian coal mining community of Pyramiden. To the northeast is Nordenskiöldbreen. At its northeastern extreme is Adolf Bay.
Adventdalen is a 30-kilometre (19 mi) valley on the island Spitsbergen in Svalbard, Norway. The river that runs through the valley, Adventdalselva, flows into Adventfjorden just outside Longyearbyen. Adventfjorden is an arm of Isfjorden.
The economy of Svalbard is dominated by coal mining, tourism and research. In 2007, there were 484 people working in the mining sector, 211 people working in the tourism sector and 111 people working in the education sector. The same year, mining gave a revenue of 2.008 billion kr, tourism NOK 317 million and research 142 million. In 2006, the average income for economically active people was NOK 494,700, or 23% higher than on the mainland. Almost all housing is owned by the various employers and institutions and rented to their employees; there are only a few privately owned houses, most of which are recreational cabins. Because of this, it is nearly impossible to live on Svalbard without working for an established institution. The Spitsbergen Treaty and Svalbard Act established Svalbard as an economic free zone and demilitarized zone in 1925.
Sholto George Watson Douglas, 19th Earl of Morton, DL was a major landowner in Scotland, a businessman with mining investments in what is now Svalbard, Norway, and politician, serving as a Scottish representative peer (1886–1935) after being elected by the Peerage of Scotland.
Advent City is an abandoned coal mining settlement located on the east side of Adventfjorden on the island of Spitsbergen in Svalbard, Norway. It was founded in the early 20th century and was the first year-round mining village in Svalbard. The village was situated on a fell field with a High Arctic tundra vegetation grazed by Svalbard reindeer and geese and dominated by mountain avens, polar willow, mosses and lichens. Today, the mine has caved in and Advent City only consists of ruins, the only visible remains being the building foundations. Most of the former buildings, however, are still present in their original state at Hiorthhamn (Moskushamn). In 2019, a team of archeologists made a 3D reconstruction of Advent City in its heyday.
Arctic Coal Company was a coal mining company that operated mines at Longyearbyen in Svalbard, Norway, between 1906 and 1916.
The history of Ny-Ålesund began in 1610, when coal deposits were discovered around Kongsfjorden. Not until the 1860s were they investigated more carefully. Ålesund-based Peter Brandal bought the claims in 1916 and established the company Kings Bay. The town, originally known as Brandal City and Kings Bay, was founded that summer when coal mining commenced. The first research installation, a geophysical station at Kvadehuken, was established in 1920. The mining was soon unprofitable and was kept running through state subsidies. In the mid-1920s the town was used for a series of airship expeditions towards the North Pole.
Ny-London is an abandoned mining settlement on Blomstrandøya, Svalbard, established by the prospector Ernest Mansfield on behalf of the Northern Exploration Company (NEC) in 1911. Mansfield discovered marble on the island in 1906, after which he described the deposits as being "no less than an island of pure marble."
References
- 1 2 "Camp Morton", The Douglas Archives
- ↑ Susan Barr, David Newman, and Greg Nesteroff, Ernest Mansfield (- Gold or I'm a Dutchman), Trondheim, Norway: Akademika Publishing, 2012
- 1 2 David Newman, "Camp Morton" (additional content, 23 February 2013), The Douglas Archives, website, accessed 2 September 2013
