Longyearbyen

Longyearbyen (, , "Longyear Town") is the world's northernmost settlement with a population greater than 1,000, and the capital and the largest inhabited area of Svalbard. 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. As of 2024, the town's mayor is Leif Terje Aunevik.

Known as Longyear City until 1926, the town was established by and named after American John Munro Longyear, whose Arctic Coal Company started coal-mining there in 1906. Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani (SNSK) took over the mining operations in 1916, and still conducts mining. The German ''Kriegsmarine'' almost completely destroyed the town on 8 September 1943, but rebuilding took place after the Second World War. Historically, Longyearbyen was a company town, but most mining operations moved to Sveagruva during the 1990s, and production ceased in 2017 due to immense financial losses suffered by SNSK since 2014 due to market conditions. Meanwhile, the town has seen a large increase in tourism and research. This includes the arrival of institutions such as the University Centre in Svalbard, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault and Svalbard Satellite Station. Svalbard Airport, Svalbard Church and the Svalbardbutikken department store serve the community.

History

In 1896, Vesteraalens Dampskibsselskab started tours to Hotellneset. To accommodate tourists, they built a prefabricated hotel, but it was not profitable and was closed after the 1897 season. However, two families overwintered in 1898–99, and Norway Post operated a post office at Hotellneset from 1897 to 1899. The first commercially viable coal on Svalbard was harvested by Søren Zakariassen in 1899. In 1901, Bergen-Spitsbergen Kullgrube-kompani started mining coal in Adventtoppen.

The American industrialist John Munro Longyear visited Spitsbergen as a tourist in 1901, and met with an expedition prospecting for coal. In 1903, he returned to Spitsbergen, where he met Henrik B. Næss in Adventfjorden, who gave him samples and information on coal fields. Along with his associate Frederick Ayer, Longyear bought the Norwegian claims on the west side of Adventfjorden, and expanded the claims significantly the following year. In 1906, the Boston-based Arctic Coal Company, with Ayer and Longyear as the main shareholders, started mining in Mine 1a, after building docks and housing. The company had American administration, but mostly Norwegian labourers, and named the town Longyear City. Coal was transported the from the mine to the port using an aerial tramway built by the aerial cableway company Adolf Bleichert & Co. of Leipzig, Germany. In 1913, the company started preliminary work to open Mine 2a.

Following financial difficulties during the First World War, the mining operations were bought by Store Norske, which was incorporated in Kristiania (renamed Oslo 1926) on 30 November 1916. That year, SNSK built five new barracks, including one that was made into a hospital. SNSK introduced its own money with the approval of Norges Bank, consisting entirely of banknotes at par with Norwegian krone. The American community buried their dead at Hotellneset. In 1918, eleven people were killed by the Spanish flu and a graveyard was established in Longyear City. Two years later, 26 men were killed in a coal dust explosion in Mine 1. This resulted in the mine being closed and the electrification of Mine 2. The same year, the first truck was delivered for use in the mining operations.

The Church of Norway appointed Thorleif Østenstad as Svalbard's first vicar and teacher in 1920. A school was established jointly by the church and SNSK and had an inaugural eight pupils. The first church in Svalbard opened on 28 August 1921, and the church's reading room was from then on used as a school. Longyear City was renamed Longyearbyen in 1926.

The Norwegian Telecommunications Administration established a coast radio station, Svalbard Radio, at Finneset in 1911, which was moved to Longyearbyen in 1930. The town's tourist industry started in 1935, when SS ''Lyngen'' started calling regularly during the summer season. In 1937, SNSK established Sverdrupbyen to house workers for Mine 1b, and operation of the mine started in 1939. In 1938, Longyearbyen's first road was completed, between the town centre and Sverdrupbyen. Operations at Mine 2b, a different entrance to Mine 2a, started in 1939.

Svalbard remained unaffected by the German occupation of Norway in 1940. However, from 1941 the archipelago became of strategic importance in the supply chain between the Allied powers, as well as a source of badly needed coal. The Norwegian government-in-exile rejected a Soviet–British occupation; instead the British Army started Operation Gauntlet to evacuate Spitsbergen. On 29 August 1941, the entire population of Ny-Ålesund was evacuated to Longyearbyen, and on 3 September 765 people were evacuated from Longyearbyen to Scotland. Later, the last 150 men were also evacuated. With Longyearbyen depopulated, a small German garrison and air strip were established in Adventdalen, mostly to provide meteorological data. After the British Operation Fritham regained control of Barentsburg, the German forces left Longyearbyen without combat.

In September 1943, the ''Kriegsmarine'' dispatched two battleships, ''Tirpitz'' and ''Scharnhorst'', and nine destroyers to bombard Longyearbyen, Barentsburg and Grumant. Only four buildings in Longyearbyen survived: the hospital, the power station, an office building, and a residential building. Longyearbyen remained unsettled until the end of the war, with the first ship from the mainland leaving on 27 June 1945.

Post-Second World War

Plans were laid during the war to ensure a quick reconstruction and restarting of mining. By 1948, coal production had reached the pre-war level of per year. Nybyen was established in 1946 and consisted of five barracks, each housing 72 people. The first issue of '' Svalbardposten'' was published in November 1948. Until then, various wall newspapers had been published irregularly. In 1949, Longyearbyen received a telephone connection with the mainland via a radio connection between Svalbard Radio and Harstad. In 1949, a farm was built in Longyearbyen to hold cattle (for milk), pigs, and hens. A local radio station started broadcasting in 1950. The burial ground remained in use until 1950, with 44 people buried. However, it was discovered that the bodies were failing to decompose because of the permafrost, and that they could be preserving various microorganisms. Bodies have since been sent to the mainland for burial. The community centre Huset opened in 1951.

Mining in Mine 1b was terminated in 1958, but operation in Mine 5 started the following year. Preliminary work on Mine 4 started in 1954, and from 1960 it was used as a reserve mine. The Norwegian Air Force started serving Longyearbyen with postal flights in the 1950s. In 1959, a man fell seriously ill, so a landing strip was prepared in Adventdalen. From the same year, Braathens SAFE started serving the tundra airport with irregular winter flights. In 1957, a principal was hired at the primary school and a new church was opened on 24 August 1958. From 1961, the primary school was supplemented by a private middle school. A branch of Tromsø Sparebank opened in 1959.

In the 1960s, the town's farm was closed and replaced by industrial liquefaction of powdered milk. The first serial-produced snowmobile was taken into use in 1961. By 1969, there were 140 registered snowmobiles and only 33 registered cars. From 1962 to 1984, a recreational centre was run at Sverdrupbyen. Ordinary operation in Mine 4 started in 1966 but was terminated by 1970, two years after Mine 2b closed. Operations in Mine 6 commenced in 1969. Television broadcasting equipment was installed in 1969, with the schedule of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation being aired with a two-week delay.

In 1971, a new school building, with a combined primary and lower secondary school, was opened, along with a new gymnasium and a swimming pool. The Svalbard Council was established on 1 November 1971. It consisted of 17 non-partisan members who were elected or appointed in three different groups: SNSK employees, government employees and others, although the ratio changed several times. Operations of Mine 3 started in March 1971 and operations in Mine 7 commenced the following year. In 1973, the Ministry of Trade and Industry bought a third of SNSK. It continued buying additional shares until it reached a 99.94 per cent ownership in 1976. The airport was opened in 1975 and initially provided four weekly services to mainland Norway and semi-weekly services to Russia. In 1978, the community received satellite communications with the mainland. The same year, an upper secondary program was introduced at the public school. From 1984, television programmes were broadcast live via satellite.

Store Norske underwent a gradual change during the 1980s. Since 1980, Spitsbergen money has been taken out of circulation and replaced with ordinary Norwegian currency. Mine 6 closed the following year. From 1982, SNSK permitted private individuals to own and operate cars. By 1990, there were 353 registered cars and 883 snowscooters. On 1 July 1983, SNSK moved its head office from Bergen to Longyearbyen. Svalbard Samfunnsdrift (SSD), a limited company that was responsible for public infrastructure and services, was established by SNSK on 1 January 1989. Responsibilities included healthcare, the fire brigade, the kindergarten, roads, rubbish disposal, power production, the water and sewer system, the cinema, cultural activities and the library. Ownership was taken over by the Ministry of Trade and Industry on 1 January 1993.

During the 1990s, the authorities started a process to "normalise" Longyearbyen by abolishing the company town scheme and introducing a full range of services, a varied economy and local democracy. Commercial enterprises included a shopping mall replacing SNSK's provision store in 1992. Similarly, Esso opened a commercial fuel station in 1994. The Svalbard Council changed its regulations from 1993 and allowed parties to run for election. In a step to increase tourism, Svalbard Polar Hotel opened in 1995, and a year later mining of Mine 3 terminated. Longyearbyen Community Council was established in 2002, replacing the Svalbard Council and assimilating SSD, and took on many of the responsibilities and the structure of a municipality.

This period also saw the rise of a number of scientific establishments. The Agricultural University of Norway had established a primitive seed bank in 1984. The University Centre in Svalbard opened on 6 September 1993 and had 30 students in its inaugural semester. Telenor Mobil established GSM coverage in 1995, and in 2004 the Svalbard Undersea Cable System opened, providing fiber-optic cable connection to the mainland. The European Incoherent Scatter Scientific Association (EISCAT) opened a radar in 1996, followed by Svalbard Satellite Station in 1999 and the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in 2008.

Geography

Longyearbyen is in the lower portion of the Longyear Valley, along the Longyear River. The lower parts of the town lie along the southwestern shore of the bay of Adventfjorden, a branch of Isfjorden. Longyearbyen is on the Nordenskiöld Land peninsula of Spitsbergen, the largest island of the Svalbard archipelago. Across the bay lie the ghost towns of Advent City and Hiorthhamn. It is the world's second northernmost town, with all settlements further north (excluding Ny-Ålesund) being research or meteorological outposts. The northernmost permanent settlement in the world is Alert, Canada, in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, while the true northernmost settlement in the world is Camp Barneo in April.

Longyearbyen is divided into several neighbourhoods. On the west side of the river, along the bay, lies the port and affiliated utility and industrial services. The western part of this area is called Bykaia and the eastern part Sjøområdet. Above lies Skjæringa, the site of the Governor's offices. Slightly up the valley on the west side lies Gamle Longyearbyen ("Old Longyearbyen") and the church. Even further up lies the graveyard, then Huset and the cinema, and finally Sverdrupbyen. Most of the residential, commercial and cultural institutions are on the east side of the river. Along the bay the area is called Sjøskrenten. Further up lies the university centre and Gruvedalen, the largest residential area. Southwards from there is the main shopping area as well as the town hall. To the east is the residential area Lia and further up Haugen, which is also the location of the school. Furthest up in the valley is Mine 2b and Nybyen, which is mostly used as student housing. Westwards out of town towards Hotellneset is the airport and Mine 3. The remaining mines are in Adventdalen, to the east of town.

Climate

Svalbard's climate is a polar tundra climate (Köppen: ET) tempered by the North Atlantic Current. The west coast of Svalbard is the warmest and wettest part of the archipelago (except for Bear Island). This is caused by the convergence of mild and humid air from the south and cold air from the north. Longyearbyen generally has lower humidity than other settlements within the Arctic Circle. Longyearbyen experiences midnight sun from between 18 April and 24 August (128 days), polar night from 27 October to 15 February (111 days), and civil polar night from 13 November to 29 January. However, due to shading from mountains, the sun is not visible in Longyearbyen until around 8 March. Snow typically covers the town from November to March. The warmest temperature ever recorded in Longyearbyen was in July 2020 and the coldest was in March 1986. Svalbard and Longyearbyen are among the places in the world that have warmed fastest in the latest decades. The 1991–2020 averages show that mean annual temperature in Longyearbyen has increased by since 1961–1990. With the sea surface temperatures warming, ice formation takes longer in the surrounding waters and thus especially early winter under the polar night warms the fastest due to the shorter ice season.

, Longyearbyen is the fastest-warming town in the world. Since 1971, temperatures on Svalbard have risen five times faster than the global average, by roughly four degrees Celsius. Winters now are more than seven degrees C warmer than they were in the 1970s. In 2020, Svalbard recorded its hottest ever temperature, , following 111 months of above-average heat. According to the Norwegian Meteorological Institute, annual precipitation on Svalbard has increased by 30 to 45 per cent over the past 50 years, mostly in the form of winter rain. Since 2009, deep permafrost temperatures have increased at rates between 0.06 and 0.15-degree C per year.

Although Alert, Canada likely has a lower average UV index, Longyearbyen has the lowest recorded average UV index for any current or previously inhabited place on Earth. Between April and September, the UV index typically ranges from 1 to 2, with May, June, and July having the highest UV index of 2. All other months average at 0, giving Longyearbyen a mean UV index of 0.75 over 12 months.

Demographics

, Longyearbyen had a population of 1,753 people. The largest regional group of Norwegians are from Northern Norway, particularly Nordland and Troms, who make up more than 40% of the population (2012). Roughly 300 people (16%) are non-Norwegian citizens, with the largest nationalities being from Thailand, Sweden, Russia and Ukraine (2009). Because of the dominance of the mining industry, the gender distribution is skewed, with 60% of adults being males. Longyearbyen has an over-average share of its population between 25 and 44 years old, but nearly no residents over 66. The number of children in relation to the population is at the national average, but Longyearbyen has significantly fewer teenagers than the national average.

As of 2014, Thai people, numbering 120, were the second largest group of residents after Norwegians; there were 60 in 2006. Thais first came to Svalbard when men brought their wives from Thailand during the 1970s. In 2006, most of the Thai residents worked as cleaners, and as of 2011 most stay for terms of two to three years to save funds. In 2007, 10 students at the Longyearbyen School were Thai. The Thai community is active in numerous cultural events annually and motivated the establishment of a Thai supermarket.

Longyearbyen experiences a very high turnover; in 2008, 427 people (23%) moved away from the town. The average person lived in Longyearbyen for 6.3 years, although it is 6.6 years for Norwegians and 4.3 years for foreigners. In 2009, about a quarter of the population had lived in the town since before 2000, and can thus be regarded as its permanent population. The longest-residing people tend to work in the mining industry, followed by local government employees. The shortest tenures are held by students and employees in higher education, tourism and the state. The turnover has created what the Norwegian government calls a "revolving door society". Most young newcomers leave within seven years, a turnover rate far greater than in any municipality on the mainland.

70% of households consist of a single person, compared to 41% on the mainland, giving an average 1.6 people per household. The difference is largely caused by people working on Svalbard while their family remains on the mainland. Longyearbyen's population is more highly educated than the national average: 54% compared to 43% have upper secondary education and 30% compared to 26% have tertiary education. Among women, 40% have higher education.

Politics and government

Longyearbyen Community Council has many of the same responsibilities as a municipality. It is organised with a 15-member council that since 2015 has been led by Mayor Arild Olsen of the Labour Party. The council's main responsibilities are infrastructure and utilities, including power, land-use and community planning, education from kindergarten to upper secondary level and child welfare. It operates three kindergartens in addition to the 13-grade Longyearbyen School.

No care or nursing services and welfare payments are available. Norwegian residents retain pension and medical rights through their mainland municipalities. The University Hospital of North Norway operates a clinic, Longyearbyen Hospital. Other public offices with a presence on Longyearbyen are the Norwegian Directorate of Mining, the Norwegian Polar Institute, the Norwegian Tax Administration and the Church of Norway. Longyearbyen is subordinate to Nord-Troms District Court and Hålogaland Court of Appeal, both in Tromsø.

The Svalbard Treaty of 1920 established full Norwegian sovereignty over the archipelago. The treaty came into effect in 1925, following the '' Svalbard Act'' that established the institution of the Governor of Svalbard. The governor holds responsibility as both county governor and chief of police, as well as holding other authority granted from the executive branch. Duties include environmental policy, family law, law enforcement, search and rescue, tourism management, information services, contact with foreign settlements and judge in some areas of maritime inquiries and judicial examinations—albeit never in the same cases as acting as police. Kjerstin Askholt has been governor since 2015; she is assisted by a staff of 26 professionals. The institution is subordinate to the Ministry of Justice and the Police, but reports to other ministries in matters within their portfolio.

Because of the special treaty status of Svalbard, Longyearbyen is subject to Norwegian legislation, but citizens of any signatory country may conduct commercial activities and live in town. However, people without a source of income can be rejected by the governor. The treaty limits Norway's right to collect taxes to that of financing services on Svalbard. Therefore, Longyearbyen has a lower income tax than mainland Norway, and there is no value added tax. The treaty has resulted in Longyearbyen being a demilitarized zone and it is not part of the European Economic Area nor of the Schengen Area like the rest of Norway.

Starting with the 2023 Norwegian local elections, voters for the Longyearbyen community council must have previously resided in mainland Norway for at least 3 years. Previously, foreign citizens who had lived in Longyearbyen itself for 3 years had also been allowed to vote, with the rule change disenfranchising a significant percentage of the settlement's population.

Unique laws

Due to its remoteness, Longyearbyen has laws that are found in few, if any, other places in the world. Notable examples of such laws include a ban on cats, a restriction on the amount of alcohol an individual can purchase each month, and a requirement that any individuals venturing outside carry a rifle for protection against polar bears. While it is popularly claimed that it is illegal to die in Longyearbyen, the wording of this claim is misleading. While it is not actually illegal to die in the town, there are no options for burial of bodies there (ashes can be buried with permission from the government) and residents considered terminally ill are typically required to move to the mainland. The decision to disallow burials came in 1950, when it was discovered that the bodies of residents who had died as a result of the 1918 flu pandemic had not begun to decompose. Today, scientists are concerned that these corpses, preserved by permafrost may still harbor live strains of the virus responsible for killing between 1% and 6% of the world's population during the early 20th century.

Culture

The community council runs a number of cultural activities, such as a cinema, a youth club, a library and a gallery. Svalbard Church of the Church of Norway has the entire archipelago as its parish. The congregational hall is while the sitting room is . The church is built in half-timber. There are two museums in town, Svalbard Museum and the Spitsbergen Airship Museum. Solfestuka ("Sun Festival Week") takes place each year during the week surrounding 8 March, the date sunlight is first visible in most of the town after the polar night that began the previous October (the first official sunrise is usually 16 February, but most of the town is still in shadow due to the surrounding mountains). Dark Season Blues has been held annually in October since 2003. Polarjazz has been held in late January/early February since 1998. Since 2011, there has been a club of supporters for the Liverpool football team, called the "Liverbirds Svalbard". Arctic Film Festival is a film festival held annually in the city's screening venue, Kulturhuset.

Sports

The town's sole known organised sports club is Svalbard Turn. Svalbardhallen is an indoor sport centre that includes a multi-sport hall large enough for handball or three badminton courts, a shooting range, a climbing wall and a swimming pool.

The town has no outdoor sports fields, and there are no known cases of a senior team in any indoor or outdoor sport participating in a national Norwegian competition (e.g. Norwegian Cup). An under-16 boys futsal team representing Svalbard Turn, played in the small 2-day '' Per Bredesen Cup'' in Horten in March 2020.

Beyond the walls of Svalbardhallen, the websites of Svalbard Turn claim they host the Spitsbergen Marathon, the Svalbard Skimaraton (42.0km freestyle, though many participants use classic style), and an annual orienteering race.

Media

'' Svalbardposten'' is a weekly newspaper published on Friday. Printing takes place in Tromsø and the majority of subscribers live on the mainland. ''Icepeople'', an alternative newspaper in English, is also published weekly.

For television, an edited feed of NRK1 began airing in 1969 on a 2-week delay; the broadcasts did not accomplish live broadcasting until 22 December 1984, which in turn resulted in Svalbard being added to the national newscasts' weather reports. Allente pay-TV satellite signals have effectively been receivable since the Canal Digital signals became publicly available in mainland Norway.

For radio, NRK P1 (most likely the Troms and Finnmark opt-out), P4 (Norway), and Radio Norge have been known to be available. As of July 2020, the Skjæringa mast was the only known remaining medium wave AM (or any AM range) broadcaster of an NRK station. DAB radio broadcasting began in August or September 2016, followed by FM radio shutting down in December 2017. Only the NRK DAB network with 13 stations was planned to be set up as of February 2016; the status for the commercial stations' DAB network (incl. P4 and Radio Norge) is unclear.

Fiber broadband is provided by the Svalbard Undersea Cable System.

Popular culture

''Arctic Outpost Radio AM1270'' is an internet station since 2016 by the persona ''Cal Lockwood'' playing 78 rpm records, who claims to broadcast to the town on the medium wave 1270 kHz, whose website and its old hosting website are registered at Kansas City, Missouri. Only one individual claimed to have actually received the AM broadcast when he was in Longyearbyen in 2019.

Economy

Coal production peaked in 2007 at 4.1 million tonnes, and reduced to 1.1 million tonnes in 2015. The only mining still taking place in Longyearbyen is at Mine 7, up Adventdalen. In 2012 it produced of coal annually, of which is used to fuel Longyear Power Station, Norway's only coal-fueled power station. The power station was scheduled for a NOK 60 million maintenance work, and the local authorities decided a NOK 40 million upgrade of the diesel power plant instead.

Most of Store Norske's production was done at Sveagruva, on Van Mijenfjorden, south of Longyearbyen. No roads connect the communities; instead, workers lived in dormitories in Svea until it closed in 2017. Seventy per cent commute home to the mainland while thirty per cent commute to Longyearbyen. Mining has not been profitable and Store Norske relies on state subsidies to retain production.

Svalbard fisheries have witnessed an unforeseen consequence of global warming: Atlantic cod

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