Naked geology, dazzling light my journey into the arctic. Northern lights cruise towards the ghost town pyramiden. Pyramiden was the final stop of our boat trip with henningsens travel. Mcewan and antony gormley, that formed the basis of mcewans novel solar. Pyramiden is situated in billefjorden and the name is derived from the pyramid shaped mountain close by. A ghost town on spitsbergen, svalbard, that used to be the remote settlement surrounding the russian coal mine of the same name. And he didnt just find a key, but also the lock that goes with it. On our way back to longyearbyen, we will pass by skansbukta, where the guide will tell us about the tragic happenings at svenskhuset the swedish house. This new sixth edition has been thoroughly updated throughout and offers new material on. In pyramiden polar bears might roam the streets, so it is important to stay together as a group while we explore the town together with the guide. At that time there was no agreement about sovereignty. It is one of the worlds ultimate middleofnowhere destinations that can still be reached in comfort by normal tourist means.
A swedish company was there first but was soon bought out by the soviet union. It was near foynoya that italian umberto nobile drifted on the ice for a while in 1928 after the catastrophic crash of his airship italia. The islands of the group range from 74 to 81 north latitude, and from. Pyramiden was one of those soviet coal mining communities that norway under whose sovereignty svalbard is allowed the russians to maintain here, as agreed under the spitsbergen treaty of 1920. A soviet ghost town in the arctic circle, pyramiden stands alone this outpost in the high north looks much as it did when it was abandoned in 1998, providing visitors with a glimpse into soviet.
Umberto nobiles airship italia crashed in 1928, resulting in the largest search in polar history. After about 3 hours we arrive in pyramiden, that is ranked high up on hte list of the best ghost towns in the world. Then, in 1920, the spitsbergen treaty placed svalbard under the sovereign rule of norway, with commercial. Pyramiden archipelago of svalbard, norway just in some. You cant really call it a town in its heyday pyramiden never boasted more than 1,000 inhabitants. There are moss and lichens, even flowers, but you wont find trees there. American military and political geographies of spitsbergen and other norwegian polar territories. Get your 3day weather forecast for pyramiden, svalbard, svalbard and jan mayen. The little bit of text in the book is in german, but 4 out of 7 pages in the book do not have any more text than the name of the location. Pyramiden spitsbergen 2020 all you need to know before. You will board the ship at longyearbyen in norway for an 8day expeditio. Pyramiden was founded by sweden in 1910 and sold to the soviet union in 1927. Six years of effort went into changing the law from 1928 which banned the manufacture of alcohol on svalbard.
Theres a restaurant and a souvenir shop on the 1st floor. Abandoned russian mining village predicted to resist decay for longer than any other modern human settlement. Pyramiden was founded by sweden in 1910 need quotation to verify and sold to the soviet union in 1927. Vest spitsbergen or vestspitsbergen, urban east norwegian. Martin conway was the first to produce a map of the interior of spitsbergen.
Pyramiden is a deserted russian mining settlement on spitsbergen, svalbard. Mining started here by sweden in 1910, and was later in 1927, sold to the. Whaling for bowhead whales started in 1611, dominated by english and dutch companies, though other countries participated. Fjordcruise towards pyramiden discover svalbard book here. It lies at the foot of the billefjorden on the island of spitsbergen and is named after the pyramid shaped mountain with the same name adjacent to the town.
I actually went to svalbard to visit pyramiden, which is an abandoned soviet mining town on spitsbergen. Click on thumbnail to open an enlarged version of the specific photo. Pyramiden is now mostly visited by seagulls, polar foxes and, not infrequently, polar bears. American military and political geographies of spitsbergen and other norwegian polar territories, 19411950 capelotti, p j on. Where should i book the boat transfer to stay your hotel. Unlike the other big russian mining town barentsburg see under svalbard pyramiden. Read more about visit svalbard or book a trip with one of our. One day, we stopped in the nearly abandoned russian mining town of pyramiden. Pyramiden meaning the pyramid in swedish and other scandinavian languages. The nearest settlements are svalbards capital, longyearbyen, some 50 kilometres 31 mi to the south, barentsburg. Their last solemn moment, before we buried the gate and the truth with it.
Spitsbergen books and more spitsbergensvalbard guidebook. Most peoples prime reason for coming to svalbard is simply the call of the exotic, the wild, the adventure of the high arctic. Abandoned in 1998, the place is now a time capsule of ussrness, including the worlds northernmost lenin bust and various other relics of the soviet era. History of svalbard project gutenberg selfpublishing. It is named after the pyramidshaped mountain of the same name nearby. Nois built a hut here in 1928, which he called kapp hvile point of rest or silence. The hotel has 28 modern twindouble rooms and 5 suite rooms. Pyramiden, svalbard, svalbard and jan mayen three day. Pyramiden, svalbard in pyramiden, svalbard and jan mayen.
When nobile went missing in 1928 the great norwegian roald amundsen, although. But it was abandoned in 1998, a few years after a terrible plane crash in longyearbyen killed 141 on their way to the settlement. Spitsbergen and antarctica twelve stunning spitsbergen images on one side and twelve equally stunning antarctic images on the other side. You can visit pyramiden by boat ms langoysund, departing from longyearbyen several times a week. Vegetation is little, with large areas of completely bare soil. Cruise the best of spitsbergen from longyearbyen, spitsbergen to. The abandoned village of pyramiden, spitsbergen, svalbard. It lies at the foot of the billefjorden on the island of spitsbergen and is named after the pyramidshaped mountain with the same name adjacent to the town. Named after pyramidshaped mountains nearby, the town used to bustle with more than permanent residents. For centuries, the archipelago was a lawless land visited only by whalers and explorers. Nearly two thirds of the archipelago are hidden underneath the ice.
Our guide takes us through the abandoned town, and gives us a glimpse back in the history of pyramiden. Situated north of mainland europe, it is about midway between continental norway and the north pole. The bradt guide to svalbard, including spitsbergen, franz josef land and jan mayen, is a unique, standalone guidebook to this evocative arctic archipelago, a place that is plunged into darkness for four months each year and where there are 4,000 snow scooters for a population of just 2,500. The islands of the svalbard archipelago are conformed by mountain ranges with sharp gullies and fjords. To the n of the kongsfjord are the krossfjord and the mollerfjord, with mollerhavn lloyd hotel hut, with visitors book. The nearest settlements are svalbards capital, longyearbyen, some 50 kilometres 31 mi to the south. In addition, spitsbergen also has an exceptional attraction for all those dark tourists with a penchant for.
Exploration of the coal deposits here started in the summer of 1910 with a swedish expedition. A soviet ghost town in the arctic circle, pyramiden stands. Spitsbergen and antarctica twelve stunning spitsbergen images on one side and twelve equally stunning antarctic images on. Pyramiden is a russian settlement and coal mining community on the archipelago of svalbard, norway. Pyramiden is home to the worlds most northern lenin statue and just houses a unique side of soviet history one i am deeply enamored by. In the 1980s, the mining community had a population of more than 1,000. It is better known as spitsbergen, the name given by the dutch. Marinated whale meat, baked salmon and pork rib, is on the menu. Hotel pyramiden norvege tarifs 2020 mis a jour et avis hotel. It was founded by a swedish company but purchased and kept for over 70 years as a coal mining town by the sovietrussian.
The place is pyramiden, one of two russian settlements on svalbard, and named for the strange angular mountain that looms over it. Pyramiden is a modern ghost town on the island of spitzbergen, svalbard. Vest spitsbergen or vestspitsbergen is the lairgest an anly permanently populatit island o the svalbard airchipelago in. Founded by sweden in 1910 and sold to the soviet union in 1927, pyramiden was closed in 1998 and has since remained largely abandoned with most. It is named after the pyramid shaped mountain of the same name nearby. An abandoned coal mine located at billefjorden close to the pyramidshaped mountain which is called pyramiden the pyramid. Now it has about 60, and soon enough theyll be gone as well. Pyramiden coal mine, spitsbergen, svalbard, norway. Two men of one of the many rescue expeditions for nobile, the dutch sjef van dongen and the italian gennaro sora, were stranded on foynoya for a while in july 1928, until they were rescued by waterplanes. In 1928, the italian, nobile, set out from here in hisairship, but was lost on the return flight. The tour is a walking tour around town with a very informative guide, taking about 2 hours. Pyramiden spitsbergen svalbard photo gallery april 2014.
It was founded by a swedish company but purchased and kept for over 70 years as a coal mining town by the sovietrussian trust arktikugol, until the town was given up in 1998. Panotour ritter hut spitsbergen svalbard 360panoarmas of ritter hut. The experimental operation soon showed to be promising as the coal seam was discovered in several places along the south face of the mountain. The polar archipelago of svalbard was first discovered by willem barentsz in 1596, although there is disputed evidence of use by pomors or norsemen.
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