The Svalbard archipelago belongs to. Svalbard Island: where it is, who owns it, interesting facts

The total area occupied by the islands is 61,022 km²

natural conditions

Mountain relief. The highest point of the islands is Mount Newtontoppen (1712 m) in Western Svalbard. Glaciers occupy 35.1 thousand km² - more than half of the area of ​​the archipelago. The shores are indented by fjords. Permafrost - layer thickness up to 200 m. Natural thawing of soils in summer ranges from 0.5 to 2.5 m.

The archipelago is located in a seismically active zone, earthquakes with a magnitude of 4-5 magnitudes on the Richter scale are noted, the possibility of earthquakes up to 6-7 magnitudes is allowed.

Geological structure

As a rule, Caledonides participate in the structure of the archipelago. But they are more like the Caledonians of Greenland than Scandinavia. However, both are products of the Early Paleozoic Iapetus Ocean, which opened up around the beginning of the Cambrian (550 million years ago). This ancient ocean was located in equatorial latitudes in the submeridional direction from 30° S. sh. (ancient coordinates) to the north, between the ancient continents Baltica and Canada-Greenland. Svalbard also includes older rocks (Baikal folding), apparently, this is part of the Barents Sea plate, which is of Proterozoic-Early Cambrian age. Much of the basement of Svalbard was formed somewhere on the active margin of the ancient Iapetus Ocean, about 500 Ma, in the Early Ordovician, and is island-arc igneous formations badly folded during the Silurian continental collision. By the beginning of the Silurian, the Iapetus ocean began to shrink, carrying the Baltic towards Canada-Greenland, (450-440 million years ago) the British Isles, the island of Newfoundland and Svalbard, which experienced strong uplift and volcanic eruptions by the middle to the end of the Silurian. Then came the final clash of the Baltic (Scandinavia), the British Isles, Greenland, Newfoundland and North America(Lawrence). The remains of ancient island arcs, limestones, clastic oceanic rocks of the Iapetus Ocean were crushed and lifted up to 9-11 thousand meters. At the point of collision of these parts of the world rose mountain range higher than today's Himalayas. 400 million years ago, Scandinavia was already connected to Greenland, and Svalbard was somewhere between them. The British Isles, Newfoundland and North America were also joined together. In the Late Paleozoic, granitoids were intruded in places. The current deposits of copper, chromium, nickel, titanium, iron, zinc, uranium and other metals, which are now located on the Kola Peninsula, in Scandinavia, Greenland, Svalbard, on British Isles and on the east coast of North America, formed precisely in that era.

Legal status of Svalbard

In 1920, as part of the Peaceful Paris Conference, the Svalbard Treaty was concluded, which consolidated Norway's sovereignty over the archipelago, but at the same time, all states parties to the Treaty had the right to carry out commercial and research activities on the basis of full equality and the demilitarized status of the archipelago (Article 3). According to article 2 of the Treaty, Norway received the right to the protection and restoration of flora and fauna, although concern for environmental situation was not typical for that time. In Article 8, Norway undertook to create a Mining Charter regulating economic activity in Svalbard, while the charter should not give privileges, monopolies and benefits to any country, including Norway. In 1925 the Mining Charter for Svalbard was adopted along with the National Svalbard Law.

Story

Presumably, it was first discovered by the Vikings or Pomors in the 12th century (it was known to the Pomors under the name Grumant; now one of the abandoned Russian villages on the islands is called that). Since 1194, a certain Svalbard has been mentioned in Norwegian chronicles. However, there is no certainty that today's Svalbard was meant. It could have been both Greenland and Jan Mayen.

Whaling

During the Second World War, Svalbard could not act as a full-fledged military base, so its population was evacuated, and the presence of German troops in the archipelago was limited to weather stations thrown from aircraft and submarines, correcting the work of German aviation in the Arctic. To eliminate them in 1942, a small Norwegian detachment was abandoned in the Longyearbyen region from Scotland on two ships Isbjørn and Selis. . Despite the fact that both ships were destroyed, the Norwegians managed to gain a foothold on the shore. In 1943, to destroy this detachment, the Germans sent a detachment of ships from the battleship Tirpitz, the cruiser Scharnhorst and nine destroyers to Svalbard, which destroyed most of Longyearbyen and Barentsburg with artillery fire (one of the coal mines set on fire at that time was extinguished only in 1960). The landing of the Germans on the coast was less successful - the Norwegians in the Barentsburg region resisted coastal artillery fire and retreated into the mountains to the village of Grumant.

In the post-war years, coal mining in the archipelago was resumed by Norwegian companies and Arktikugol, which also acted as the main representative of the Soviet Union in the Arctic. The gradual depletion of proven reserves in the mines of the archipelago led to a reduction in production everywhere except the Norwegian Sveagruva. As a result, the Norwegian government began to focus Spitsbergen on the development of tourism and expeditionary and scientific base. Arktikugol could not cope with the task of diversifying economic activities and in the post-Soviet period is subsidized from the state budget. Expenses for maintaining the activities of the former Soviet concessions in Svalbard in 2006 alone amounted to 395.6 million rubles.

Current state

Funicular for transporting coal

Although the Svalbard archipelago is controlled by the Kingdom of Norway and has been officially part of it since 1925, there are differences related to taxation (tax-free zone), environmental protection, protection of the rights of the local population and military activities (demilitarized zone). There are two islands official languages- Norwegian and Russian, citizens of Russia (like citizens of most other countries) do not need a visa to visit the archipelago.

Coal mining in the mines is carried out by the Norwegian company Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani and also under concession by the Russian state trust Arktikugol (formerly the Soviet trust). Here (the Barentsburg mine) is the northernmost operating railway in the world, which is almost completely underground. Previously, there were several railways, and they passed along the surface. All mined coal is spent on heating Barentsburg itself, that is, the Russian enterprise is a planned unprofitable and (partly) image project.

Svalbard is currently one of the centers of the polar and circumpolar tourism, in the port of Longyearbyen regularly stop as large cruise ships from northern Europe, as well as specialized ice-class tourist vessels for excursions in the Arctic. The city has several hotels (including SAS Radisson), bars and good restaurants with arctic cuisine (for example, the Kroa restaurant "On the edge of the earth"). There is a very interesting polar museum and university UNIS, significant scientific work is being done to study climate, geology and glaciology. In summer and winter, walking, water (kayaks and boats) and snowmobile excursions and expeditions depart daily from the city.

In the 2000s, the World Seed Vault, the so-called "Doomsday Vault", was built on the island with the money of the Norwegian government. This vault contains a seed bank of both domestic and wild plants, designed to survive even in a nuclear war. In addition, the Berget Plateau hosts the antennas of the SvalSAT satellite station, the EISCAT incoherent scatter radar, and the KHO aurora observatory. Spitsbergen is connected to the mainland by a submarine fiber optic cable, within Barentsburg, Kolesbukhta and Longyearbyen, there is a cellular connection of both Russian (Megafon) and Norwegian operators.

Nature

National parks of Svalbard

The climate is harsh, the vegetation is not rich, the plants are low and cold-resistant. At the beginning of summer, the tundra is heavily swamped due to snowmelt, and the water level in the rivers is high. Basically, the southern part of Svalbard (zero zone) is free of snow in summer, although glaciers are found in the vicinity of all settlements. Red algae are often found on glaciers, giving the snow and ice a pinkish tint. Despite the round-the-clock polar day, the temperature difference between day and night in summer is noticeable and can reach 5-10 degrees Celsius. The first snowfalls occur in September, although snow is not uncommon at the end of August. Due to the relatively mild climate, Svalbard is also popular with tourists during the polar night, when stable snow and ice cover allows snowmobiles.

The population of the archipelago is about 2,600 people (as of January 1, 2009). Of these, 69.9% are Norwegians, 18.3% Russians and Ukrainians, 0.4% Poles. The island has a completely visa-free regime, that is, representatives of all nations that signed the Spitsbergen Treaty of 1920 have the right to live and work. From a practical standpoint, despite the lack of immigration and customs controls, Longyearbyen's harsh climate and high cost of living effectively restrict labor migration to service and tourism workers. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, a number of former Arktikugol employees moved to permanent residence to Longyearbyen, while the population of Russian mining villages continued to decline in proportion to the fall in coal production.

The largest settlement is Longyearbyen, with about 2,000 people, the majority being Norwegians. It is also administrative center archipelago. Other settlements:

• Russian mining villages: Barentsburg (470 people), Grumant and Piramida (mothballed)
• Norwegian International Research Center Ny-Ålesund (about 30 people, more than 100 in summer)
• the Norwegian mining village of Sveagruva (90 people, with more than 300 workers from Longyearbyen)
• Polish research station Hornsund (10 people).

There is also a mothballed settlement-port of Kolesbukhta, which was previously connected with Grumant by rail along the coast. At present, the road has fallen into disrepair, and the tunnel near the village of Grumant is backfilled as a result of ground movements.

Religion

Longyearbyen has the only active Lutheran church with its own clergyman. There is an Orthodox chapel in Barentsburg. In the village of Hornsund there is a Polish research station, consisting of 10 people. In agreement with the Russian Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church in Norway, the Lutheran pastor ministers to the faithful of these churches.

Economy

Since the beginning of the 20th century, coal mining has become the basis of the economy in Svalbard. At the same time, local coal seams, as a rule, have access directly from the slope of the mountains, and many places of coal occurrence are visible to the naked eye. This geological formation resulted in numerous small mines and open cuts along the coastline that opened and closed as the seams were exhausted and explored. The size of the settlements on Svalbard usually corresponded to the thickness of the nearby coal mines.

The exhaustion of the main easily accessible coal deposits by the mid-70s raised the question of the economic feasibility of the existence of Longyearbyen, which by that time had already been subsidized by the Norwegian government. The Norwegian state company Kings Bay AS, which owned the settlement of Ny-Ålesund, found itself in a similar situation. For this reason, the Norwegian government began to actively diversify the economy of Svalbard and provided tax benefits to the inhabitants of the archipelago. In addition, in 1993 the mining town of Longyearbyen was sold to the national government, which concentrated on the development of a university center and tourism.

Currently, the only major profitable mine in the archipelago is Sveagruva, which is the main source of income for Svalbard (NOK 2.008 million in 2007). Coal is also mined at the N7 mine in Longyearbyen, providing coal to the local power plant. The second most important source of income is tourism (317 million kroons), the third source is the provision of scientific activities (142 million kroons). In particular, Kings Bay provides logistical support to about 200 scientists working in the village of Ny-Ålesund in summer season, and is also responsible for supplying other scientific stations. The tourist business is concentrated around Longyearbyen, where tourists from mainland Norway arrive (two flights a day), as well as cruise ships. All types of business within the Norwegian settlements show stable growth. In particular, the jump in hydrocarbon prices in the late 2000s ensured record production figures in Sveagruv (over 4 million tons per year), and the number of cruise ship passengers increased from 20,000 in 2005 to 30,000 people in 2008.

Thus, despite the significant initial investment by the Norwegian government in airport, seaport and scientific infrastructure, Svalbard is now fully self-sustaining, with an average annual income of residents 23% higher than the average for Norway.

Russian economic presence

The exhaustion of the coal-bearing layer at the Pyramid mine in the 1990s put an end to the profitability of Arktikugol, which quickly turned into a subsidized resource. At the same time, the planned state expenses for the maintenance of the trust amount to 870, 820 and 806 million rubles for 2008, 2009 and 2010, and the activity is reduced to maintaining the life of Barentsburg, which has been extracting coal only for its own consumption since 2006. Despite this, Arktikugol's management regularly announces the imminent resumption of mining at Pyramid or Grumant, a position supported in part by Norwegian miners. From a political point of view, an open coal mining license for a Russian enterprise facilitates the functioning of Sveagruva, often criticized by the Norwegian Green Party, which has already secured a ban on oil production in the Svalbard area.

The village of Barentsburg itself is not of long-term tourist interest - despite the frequent summer sailings of ships from Longyearbyen, most tourists visit the Russian settlement for no more than a couple of hours. The development of an independent tour operator infrastructure in Barentsburg and a scientific and logistics base in Pyramiden is hampered by both the lack of ground communication with the airport and the state monopoly on the use of buildings and structures of the FSUE GT Arktikugl settlements. In addition, Barentsburg does not have a repair and logistics base for basing the most demanded (small) ice-class cruise fleet, and suitable ships of the former Soviet scientific fleet are leased (“Academician Multanovsky”, “Professor Molchanov”) from foreign companies or sold (“Polar Pioneer" - the former "Academician Shuleikin", "Academician Shokalsky ”, “Spirit of Enderby” - former “Professor Khromov”) to foreign tour operators.

In the long term, the ice-free port of Barentsburg can be used as a base for servicing the Northern Sea Route, increasing the likelihood of timely provision of icebreaking support and reducing the risks associated with ice damage to ships. The development of Barentsburg in this direction is hampered by the lack of a road in the village. Longyearbyen and the outdated format of Russia's economic activity in the region.

Tourism

The archipelago of Spitsbergen (Svalbard) is a territory of Norway and is governed by a Norwegian governor (Norwegian: Sysselmannen), who sets quite strict rules for tourism. In particular, tourist helicopter excursions are prohibited on Svalbard. In addition, wild animals (including polar bears) must not be disturbed, and all lethal use of weapons is investigated by the police. Also under protection are traces of human activity earlier than 1946.

To ensure the safety of independent travel in the archipelago, tourists are required to obtain permission to go outside the zero zone (which includes Longyearbyen, Barentsburg, Grumant and Pyramid), as well as have insurance and communicate using satellite phones or radio stations. The standard walking route of the zero zone is the transition from the village. Longyearbyen through the Adventdalen valley to Kolesbuchta, then to Grumant and return to the village through the Bjoerndalen valley. There are also hiking trails around the Isfjord and Pyramid glaciers, the transfer is made by zodiacs with passing tourist ships of the Barentsburg - Longyearbyen - Pyramid line.

Most polar tourists arrive in Svalbard during the polar day, from March to August. In spring, snowmobile and ski trails are most popular, and in July-August, hiking expeditions. During the polar day, the temperature on Svalbard averages around five degrees Celsius, although snowfalls are also not uncommon. In May-June, the tundra is very swampy and the main tourist routes pass through glaciers and fjords (in kayaks).

The development of Arctic cruises has given a good impetus hotel industry Longyearbyen, which registered 93,000 guests in 2008 at a fairly high cost hotel rooms(from 120 USD). Despite the fact that there are no economy class hotels in the city, tourists can also stay in a hostel or campsite right in front of the airport. There is also a hotel in Barentsburg, but it is not very popular due to the underdevelopment of the tourism industry in the village.

Weapons and hunting

Svalbard (including Longyearbyen) is on the seasonal polar bear migration route to the pack ice. Despite the fact that the probability of meeting a bear on a polar day at the 78th parallel is small, it is customary in the archipelago to carry large-caliber weapons (rifled or smooth-bore) when leaving Longyearbyen. It is also recommended to have a flare gun with you and to protect the places of overnight stay with flare mines. There are several sports shops in the city that rent guns and ammunition for tourists. In 2009, the governor of Svalbard introduced a new rule for renting weapons, for which you must provide a certificate from the police of the country of residence.

Lives in the archipelago a large number of animals (including Svalbard reindeer), however, hunting requires a license from the governor in advance.

Russian projects and prospects

Despite the complete openness of the archipelago to everyone who wants to live and work, there is practically no private Russian business in Svalbard. At the same time, Russian state property is used extremely inefficiently and requires costs, both to maintain and maintain jurisdiction (Norwegian law sets a maximum period for abandonment of objects). To justify the constant subsidies, the management of Arktikugol brought up various projects for discussion, including the resumption of coal mining in Grumant and Pyramiden, the development of Barentsburg as a fishing base, etc. for example, the surface road Barentsburg - Longyearbyen or the restoration of the Grumant - Kolesbukhta railway) is unknown.

In addition, exotic projects were periodically voiced in Russian periodicals, such as: the construction of ophthalmological and balneological centers in Barentsburg (a powerful source of mineral water), the extraction of semi-precious stones, the processing of fish in a factory staffed by labor migrants, the regular extraction and primary processing of algae for the needs of poultry farming as a food additive to bird food, and so on.

see also

Notes

1. Kovacs K.M., Lydersen Ch. Birds and mammals of Svalbard. Polarhandbok No. 13. - Oslo, 2006, 203 p.
2. V.V. Slavinsky Thermal regime of the lithosphere of passive continental margins on the examples of North-Western Spitsbergen and South-Eastern Australia // Materials of the XLII Tectonic Conference. - Moscow: Geological Institute (GIN) RAN, 2009. - T. 2. - S. 191-195.
3. A.I. Konyukhov How many Atlantic Oceans were there? . Archived from the original on June 3, 2012. Retrieved February 11, 2012.
4. http://www.norway.mid.ru/sp_ru.html About Svalbard. History // Official Web site of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Oslo, Norway
5. ORTELIUS, ABRAHAM "Septentrionalium regionum Descrip.", 1570s
6. Svalbard's history - the cruise book from Svalbard. Norsk PolarInstitute. Archived
7. S. Patyanin // Operation Citronella. tsushima.org.ru. Archived from the original on February 17, 2012. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
8. PROBLEMS OF THE NORTH AND THE ARCTIC OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION, SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION BULLETIN ISSUE SIXTH October, 2007 . Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation. Archived from the original on February 17, 2012. Retrieved November 2, 2010.
9. "Language in Svalbard" - travel.ru
10. "Visas to Svalbard" - travel.ru
11. Order of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation (Ministry of Economic Development of Russia) dated April 4, 2011 N 142 Moscow "On approval of the Rules for granting subsidies from the federal budget to the federal state unitary enterprise State Trust Arktikugol" Rossiyskaya Gazeta
12. "The Great Book of Catastrophes" Nikolai Nepomniachtchi ISBN 5-373-00693-9, 9785373006934
13. http://www.ssb.no/befsvalbard_en/tab-2009-10-22-01-en.html
14. Norwegian statistics data
15. Meet the Svalbard archipelago. What the numbers tell us Norwegian Bureau of Statistics
16. Shall we build factories in the Arctic? Murmansk Bulletin
17. Svalbard. History of domestic development of the archipelago

Literature

• Natalya Kozlova Island of arrested ships // Russian newspaper: newspaper. - 2005. - No. 3904.
• Nadezhda Sorokina Moscow will not weaken its position on Svalbard // Russian newspaper: newspaper. - 2006. - No. 4024.
• E. M. Zinger Country of mountains and glaciers // Nature: magazine. - 1997. - No. 8.
• L. M. Savatyugin, M. V. Dorozhkina Spitsbergen archipelago: Russian names and titles. - St. Petersburg: Nauka, 2009. - 272 p.
• N. A. Gnilorybov Coal mines in Svalbard. - Moscow: Nedra, 1988. - 191 p.
• E. M. Zinger Svalbard is an ice archipelago. - Moscow: Penta, 2006. - 302 p.
• F. N. Chernyshev Russian expedition to Svalbard. - Peace of God. - 1901. - 261 p.
• N. E. Koroleva, N. A. Konstantinova, O. A. Belkina, D. A. Davydov, A. Yu. Likhachev, A. N. Savchenko, I. N. Urbanavichene Flora and vegetation of the coast of the Grenfjord Bay (Spitsbergen archipelago). - Apatity: Ed. K & M, 2008. - 132 p.
• Kokin O. V. Relief and deposits of marginal zones of glaciers in Western Spitsbergen.

• Starkov V.F. Essays on the history of the development of the Arctic. Volume 1: Svalbard / Ed. dr ist. Sciences A. K. Stanyukovich. .. - Ed. 2nd. - M .: Scientific world, 2009. - 96 p. - 300 copies. - ISBN 978-5-91522-101-6(reg.)

Links

• in the "Modern Encyclopedia"

• Sysselmannen.no - Website of the Governor of Svalbard
• Svalbard Tourism - website of the official tourist board
• TopoSvalbard- interactive map from Norwegian Polar Institute (Norwegian) (English)
• The history of one city: Longyearbyen (Svalbard) on the "Echo of Moscow"

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Svalbard(German: Spitzbergen), also Svalbard(Norwegian Svalbard), spitsbergen(Dutch. Spitsbergen), Grumant- extensive polar archipelago, located in the Arctic Ocean, between 76°26" and 80°50" north latitude and 10° and 32° east longitude. Northernmost part. The administrative center is the city. The archipelago and coastal waters are a demilitarized zone.

Significant, by Arctic standards, economic activity in the archipelago, in addition to Norway, according to the special status of the archipelago, is carried out only by a Russian settlement on the island of Western Svalbard - a village, as well as the mothballed villages of Piramida and Grumant.

Etymology

The Russian name "Svalbard" is borrowed from the Dutch niderl. Spitzbergen - this name was given to the archipelago in 1596 by the Dutch navigator V. Barents, literally it means " sharp mountains"(Dutch spitz - "sharp", Dutch bergen - "mountains"). The Russian Pomors used the name "Grumant", which is considered a distorted transfer of the toponym "Greenland", - according to medieval ideas, Svalbard in the north connected with Greenland, and its name is known in the forms "Gruland, Grutland". In Norway itself, the name “Svalbard” (nor. Svalbard) is accepted - “cold land”, which the Scandinavian navigators of the 12th century gave to some northern land they discovered, later identified by F. Nansen with Svalbard.

Geography

Map of the Svalbard archipelago

The area of ​​the archipelago is 61022 km².

It consists of three large islands - Western Svalbard, North-East Land and Edge Island; seven smaller islands - Barents Island, White, Prince Karl Land, Kongsoya (King's Island), Bear, Svensköya, Wilhelm Island; as well as groups of islands, small islets and skerries, with a total area of ​​621 km².

The largest islands:

natural conditions

Mountain relief. The highest point of the islands is Mount Newton (1712 m) in Western Svalbard. Glaciers occupy 35.1 thousand km² - more than half of the area of ​​the archipelago. The coast is cut by fjords. Permafrost - layer thickness up to 200 m. Natural thawing of soils in summer ranges from 0.5 to 2.6 m.

Tundra vegetation - dwarf birch (lat. Bétula nána), polar willow (lat. Salix polaris), mosses, mushrooms, lichens and more than 170 species of vascular plants.

Of the mammals on the islands, only the polar bear, the Svalbard reindeer (the smallest of the reindeer species), and the arctic fox. Attempts to introduce other land mammals to the archipelago, in particular polar hares and musk oxen from Greenland, were unsuccessful. Also, narwhals can occasionally be found near the coast of Svalbard. Marine animals are abundant on the archipelago - seals, harp seals, bearded seals, walruses, beluga whales, whales. All of the listed animals (except for polar bears) are quite often found in close proximity to settlements.

There are about 90 species of birds on Svalbard, of which 36 constantly nest in the archipelago. The only species that lives in Svalbard all year round is the polar (white) partridge (lat. Lagopus mutus hyperboreus). The rest of the birds fly away to the southern countries for the winter, and return to the archipelago only in the spring to nest and breed.

About half of the territory is occupied by nature protection zones: 3 reserves and 3 sanctuaries.

Large deposits of high-calorific coal are estimated at 10 billion tons. A unique feature of Svalbard is also a significant number of rocks with fossilized remains of plants and animals. In 2007, a Norwegian group of paleontologists managed to discover the remains of the largest pliosaurus in the archipelago. Pliosaurus funkei. The high diversity of geological rocks of the archipelago is explained by its long migration through the Earth's mantle, during which Svalbard visited different climatic zones.

The climate is arctic, in the west it is significantly softened by the warm Svalbard Current (part of the Gulf Stream). average temperature air on the coast from +4…+6 °C (July) to −10…−14 °C (January). Due to the influence of the Gulf Stream, winter temperatures in Svalbard are on average 20 degrees higher than in other places of comparable latitude. The maximum recorded temperature is +24.5 °C (July 1978), the minimum is -46.3 °C (March 1986).

The archipelago is located in a seismically active zone, earthquakes with a magnitude of 4-5 points on the Richter scale were noted, the possibility of earthquakes up to 6-7 points is expected.

Nature

National parks of Svalbard

The climate is harsh, the vegetation is not rich, the plants are low and cold-resistant. At the beginning of summer, the tundra is heavily swamped due to snowmelt, and the water level in the rivers is high. Basically, the southern part of Svalbard (zero zone) is free of snow in summer, although glaciers are found in the vicinity of all settlements. Red algae are often found on glaciers, giving the snow and ice a pinkish tint. Despite the round-the-clock polar day, the temperature difference between day and night in summer is noticeable and can reach 5-10 degrees Celsius. The first snowfalls occur in September, although snow is not uncommon at the end of August. Due to the relatively mild climate, Svalbard is also popular with tourists during the polar night, when stable snow and ice coverage makes snowmobiling possible.

As a rule, Caledonides participate in the structure of the archipelago. But they are more like the Caledonides of Greenland than Scandinavia. However, both are products of the Early Paleozoic Iapetus Ocean, which opened around the beginning of the Cambrian, about 550 million years ago. This ancient ocean was located in equatorial latitudes in the submeridional direction from 30° S. sh. (ancient coordinates) to the north, between the ancient continents Baltica and Canada-Greenland. Svalbard also includes more ancient rocks (Baikal folding). Apparently, this is a part of the Barents Sea Plate, which is of Proterozoic-Early Cambrian age. Most of the basement of Svalbard was formed somewhere on the active margin of the ancient Iapetus Ocean about 500 million years ago in the early Ordovician and is an island-arc igneous formation, strongly folded during the collision of the continents in the Silurian. By the beginning of the Silurian, the Iapetus Ocean began to shrink, carrying the Baltic towards Canada-Greenland, (450-440 million years ago) the British Isles, the island of Newfoundland and Svalbard, which experienced strong uplift and volcanic eruptions by the middle to the end of the Silurian. Then there was the final collision of the Baltic (Scandinavia), the British Isles, Greenland, Newfoundland and North America (Lawrence). The remains of ancient island arcs, limestones, clastic oceanic rocks of the Iapetus Ocean were crushed and lifted up to 9-11 thousand meters. At the point of collision of these parts of the world, a mountain range rose higher than today's Himalayas. 400 million years ago, Scandinavia was already connected to Greenland, and Svalbard was somewhere between them. The British Isles, Newfoundland and North America were also joined together. In the Late Paleozoic, granitoids were intruded in places. The current deposits of copper, chromium, nickel, titanium, iron, zinc, uranium and other metals, which are now located on the Kola Peninsula, in Scandinavia, Greenland, Svalbard, on the British Isles and on the east coast of North America, were formed precisely in that era.

Legal status of Svalbard

In 1920, as part of the Peaceful Paris Conference, the Svalbard Treaty was concluded, which consolidated Norway's sovereignty over the archipelago, but at the same time, all states parties to the Treaty had the right to carry out commercial and research activities on the basis of full equality and the demilitarized status of the archipelago (Article 3). According to article 2 of the Treaty, Norway received the right to protect and restore flora and fauna, although concern for the ecological situation was not typical for that time. In Article 8, Norway undertook to create a Mining Charter regulating economic activity in Svalbard, while the charter should not give privileges, monopolies and benefits to any country, including Norway. In 1925 the Mining Charter for Svalbard was adopted along with the National Svalbard Law.

Military significance

The geographical location of Spitsbergen is extremely advantageous from a military point of view, it allows you to control shipping and air traffic in the Arctic Ocean, provided that the necessary military infrastructure(points based fleet, airfields, radar and hydroacoustic stations).

The Soviet Union, in its negotiations with Norway, repeatedly raised the issue of sharing the territory of Spitsbergen to ensure the defense of the island, in particular, to deploy Soviet military bases on the island both during the Second World War, under the pretext of the need to protect northern convoys from land, and at dawn cold war, against the background of the emerging confrontation with the United States. The Norwegian Storting has repeatedly considered the issue of granting the territory of the USSR for military needs, but always rejected these projects by a majority vote. One of the last votes on this issue dates back to the summer of 1947, when the majority of parliamentarians once again refused the USSR to create a military base on the island (out of 112 voters, 11 voted “for”, 101 “against” the construction of a Soviet military base).

Story

Presumably, Russian Pomors and Vikings discovered the archipelago in the 12th century. Svalbard was first mentioned in the Icelandic Annals in an entry under 1194, reporting that “Svalbard was found” ( Svalbardi funnin). The name "Svalbard" is translated as "cold shores".

The Svalbard expedition of the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, led by V.F. Starkov, believes that Pomor settlements existed in Svalbard in the middle of the 16th century. In total, more than eighty Pomeranian monuments are known.

In 1596, the islands were discovered and documented by the Dutchman Willem Barents, who gave the main island the name "Spitsbergen", which means "sharp mountains". Barents discovered a large number of walruses and whales on the island and in its adjacent waters, which gave rise to numerous fishing expeditions. Around the same time, the archipelago appeared on maps under the name "Santi Rustene". A few years later, their claims to these lands were declared by and.

Whaling

In the 17th and 18th centuries, it was used by various countries as a base for whaling, until the whales were almost completely exterminated in this region. The center of Dutch whaling since 1614 was the village of Smeerenburg. , along with and, today continues this fishery, despite the moratorium of the International Commission on the Regulation of Whaling and the ban on the export of whale meat.

In 1743, on the island of Edge (Maly Brun) in the southeastern part of the archipelago, four Russian hunters from Mezen landed, led by feeder Alexei Khimkov, whose ship was ice-covered not far from its shores. Having practically no supplies, they managed to spend more than 6 years on the island, hunting bears, walruses and seals, catching arctic foxes and harvesting skins. In August 1749, three surviving winterers were discovered by a Russian merchant ship and taken to.

In 1760, the French scientist Pierre Ludovic Leroy, who became interested in their history, published on German in and an essay republished in 1766 in French in, and in a Russian translation of 1772 called "The Adventures of Four Russian Sailors, Brought to the Island of Ost-Spitsbergen by a Storm, Where They Lived for Six Years and Three Months."

In 1765-1766, Mikhail Lomonosov organized two marine scientific expeditions to Svalbard under the command of V. Ya. Chichagov, but the harsh climate did not allow the organization of permanent settlements on the archipelago, and until the beginning of the 20th century Svalbard had no official Russian presence. Nevertheless, the Pomors maintained a seasonal hunting presence in the archipelago, and the most desperate of them regularly stayed for the winter.

After the decline of whaling and fur trade at the end of the 18th century, over the next hundred years Svalbard was actually abandoned and was considered terra nullius - no man's land, that is, despite the nominal claims of different countries to it, it was actually not controlled by anyone. A new wave of interest began only at the end of the 19th century, when year-round access to ports and a relatively mild climate made Svalbard the main base for polar expeditions and Arctic tourism.

Many famous explorers have visited the archipelago, including Fridtjof Nansen, Roald Amundsen and Ernst Shackleton. Northern part André Land is named after Solomon André, who made an attempt to reach the North Pole in 1897 hot-air balloon. In 1912, Western Spitsbergen was also described and mapped in detail as part of the last expedition of the famous Russian Arctic explorer and pioneer of the Northern Sea Route V. A. Rusanov. Svalbard was also visited by the first Arctic tourists - wealthy Europeans, including the representative of the royal family of Monaco, Prince Albert.

Since the beginning of the 20th century, the economic situation on the islands has also gradually changed. Coal mining by American, British, Norwegian, Russian and Swedish enterprises led to the establishment of permanent settlements. Norway's sovereignty over the archipelago was recognized in 1920, when Italy signed the Svalbard Treaty in Paris. The Norwegians were in a hurry to secure the disputed lands for themselves in the absence of their main rival, the Russian Empire, which determined the unprecedented terms of the treaty. By agreement, all countries participating in the treaty retained the right to extract and develop minerals in the archipelago. On May 7, 1935, the USSR also joined it, which by that time already had several workers' settlements on Svalbard. The USSR was interested not only in local coal, but also in fish. Already in 1934, an expedition was sent to Svalbard on the hunting boat "Nikolai Knipovich", which discovered herring. It was followed by a voyage to the islands of the Avangard ship, which returned to Murmansk with 25 tons of catch after an 18-day voyage.

Since the mid-1920s, Svalbard has become world famous as a base for polar aviation - for example, Roald Amundsen's flights on seaplanes with the money of the American millionaire Lincoln Ellsworth. On May 21, 1925, Amundsen leaves Svalbard for the North Pole, but does not fly and returns to Svalbard. May 11, 1926 starts from Svalbard Amundsen-Ellsworth-Nobile expedition on an airship designed by Umberto Nobile. Having flown over the Pole (piloted by the airship Nobile), the expedition landed in Alaska. Under Mussolini, Umberto Nobile, already a general and an honorary member of the ruling fascist party, on May 23, 1928, decided to repeat the flight to the North Pole. Starting from Svalbard, he reached the Pole, but on the way back the airship crashed. Amundsen, who flew out in search of Nobile, died, and the surviving crew members of the airship were saved on July 12 by the Soviet icebreaker Krasin.

During the Second World War, Svalbard could not act as a full-fledged military base, so its population was evacuated, and the presence of German troops on the archipelago was limited to weather stations thrown from aircraft and submarines, correcting the work of German aviation in the Arctic. To eliminate them in 1942, a small Norwegian detachment was abandoned in the Longyearbyen area on two ships Isbjørn and Selis. Despite the fact that both ships were destroyed, the Norwegians managed to gain a foothold on the shore. In 1943, to destroy this detachment, the Germans sent a detachment of ships from the battleships Tirpitz, Scharnhorst and nine destroyers to Svalbard, which destroyed most of Longyearbyen and Barentsburg with artillery fire (one of the coal mines set on fire at that time was extinguished only in 1960). The landing of the Germans on the coast was less successful. The Norwegians in the Barentsburg region resisted coastal artillery fire and retreated into the mountains to the village of Grumant.

In the post-war years, coal mining in the archipelago was resumed by Norwegian companies and Arktikugol, which also acted as the main representative of the Soviet Union in the Arctic. The gradual depletion of proven reserves in the mines of the archipelago led to a reduction in production everywhere except the Norwegian Sveagruva. As a result, the Norwegian government began to focus Spitsbergen on the development of tourism and expeditionary and scientific base. Arktikugol could not cope with the task of diversifying economic activities and in the post-Soviet period is subsidized from the state budget. In 2006 alone, the costs of maintaining the activities of the former Soviet concessions in Spitsbergen amounted to 395.6 million rubles.

Also, since 1949, Soviet fishing voyages to Svalbard for fish were resumed. The first major expedition in 1949 caught 462 tons of herring.

Current state

Ropeway for transporting coal

Although the Svalbard archipelago is controlled by the Kingdom and officially part of it since 1925, there are differences related to taxation (tax-free zone), environmental protection, protection of the rights of the local population and military activities (demilitarized zone).

There are two official languages ​​on the islands - Norwegian and Russian; Russian citizens do not need a visa to visit the archipelago.

Coal mining in the mines is carried out by the Norwegian company Store Norske, as well as under concession by the Russian state trust Arktikugol (formerly the Soviet trust). Here (the Barentsburg mine) is the northernmost operating railway in the world, which is almost completely underground. Previously, there were several railways and they passed along the surface. All mined coal goes to heating Barentsburg itself, that is, the Russian enterprise is a planned unprofitable and partly an image project.

The Svalbard airport operates with regular flights to Norway (,) and irregular (charter) flights of Arktikugol to Moscow. One of these flights caused the largest tragedy in the history of Svalbard - on August 29, 1996, a Russian Tu-154M aircraft of Vnukovo Airlines crashed while landing directly opposite. 141 people were killed: 129 passengers and 12 crew members.

At present, Svalbard is one of the centers of polar and subpolar tourism; both large cruise ships from northern Europe and specialized ice-class tourist ships for excursions in the Arctic regularly stop in the port of Longyearbyen. The city has several hotels (including SAS Radisson), bars and restaurants with arctic cuisine (for example, the Kroa restaurant "On the edge of the earth"). There is a polar museum and the Svalbard International University, and significant scientific work is being done to study climate, geology and glaciology. In summer and winter, hiking, water (kayaks and boats), snowmobile excursions and expeditions depart daily from the city.

In the 2000s, the World Seed Vault, the so-called "Doomsday Vault", was built on the island with the money of the Norwegian government. This vault contains a seed bank of both cultivated and wild plants, designed to survive even in a nuclear war. In addition, the Berget Plateau hosts the antennas of the SvalSAT satellite station, the EISCAT incoherent scatter radar, and the KHO aurora observatory. Svalbard is connected to the mainland by a submarine fiber optic cable, within Barentsburg, Kolesbukhta and Longyearbyen, there is a cellular connection of both Russian (MegaFon) and Norwegian operators.

Population

The population of the archipelago is about 2600 people (as of January 1, 2009). Of these, 69.9% are Norwegians, 18.3% are Russians and Ukrainians, and 0.4% are Poles. The island has a completely visa-free regime, that is, representatives of all nations that signed the Svalbard Treaty of 1920 have the right to live and work. From a practical point of view, despite the lack of immigration and customs controls, the harsh climate and high cost of living in Longyearbyen effectively limit the labor migration of service and tourism workers. After the collapse of the USSR, a number of former Arktikugol employees moved permanently to Longyearbyen, while the population of Russian mining villages continued to decline in proportion to the fall in coal production.

The largest settlement is about 2000 people, the majority are Norwegians. It is also the administrative center of the archipelago. Other settlements:

• Russian mining villages: (470 people), Pyramiden (3-4 people in winter, about 15 in summer, for the most part mothballed) and Grumant (mothballed);
• Norwegian International Research Center Ny-Ålesund (about 30 people, more than 100 in summer);
• the Norwegian mining village of Sveagruva (90 people, with more than 300 workers from Longyearbyen);
• Polish research station Hornsund (10 people).

There is also a mothballed settlement-port of Kolesbukhta, which was previously connected with Grumant by rail along the coast. At present, the road has fallen into disrepair, and the tunnel near the village of Grumant is backfilled as a result of ground movements.

Religion

Longyearbyen has the only active Lutheran church with its own clergyman. In Barentsburg - an Orthodox chapel. In agreement with the Russian Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church in Norway, the Lutheran pastor ministers to the faithful of these churches.

Economy

Since the beginning of the 20th century, coal mining has become the basis of the economy in Svalbard. At the same time, local coal seams, as a rule, have access directly from the slope of the mountains, and many places of coal occurrence are visible to the naked eye. This geological formation resulted in numerous small mines and open cuts along the coastline that opened and closed as the seams were exhausted and explored. The size of the settlements on Svalbard usually corresponded to the thickness of the nearby coal mines.

As coal reserves were depleted, the Norwegian authorities tried to diversify the island's economy through the development of tourism, in order to reduce the region's subsidies, and expand the research sector. Due to the collapse of the USSR, a similar diversification of the Russian segment of the economy began belatedly due to financial difficulties.

see also

• Svalbard ruble
• Franz Josef Land

Notes

1. Pospelov, 2002, p. 475.
2. Kovacs K.M., Lydersen Ch. Birds and mammals of Svalbard. Polarhandbok No. 13. - Oslo, 2006, 203 p.
3. V.V. Slavinsky. Thermal regime of the lithosphere of passive continental margins on the examples of North-Western Spitsbergen and South-Eastern Australia // Proceedings of the XLII Tectonic Conference. - Moscow: Geological Institute (GIN) RAN, 2009. - V. 2. - S. 191-195.
4. A.I. Konyukhov. How many Atlantic Oceans were there? Retrieved February 11, 2012. Archived from the original on June 3, 2012.
5. About Svalbard. Story. Website of the Russian Embassy in Oslo, Norway.
6. Norway: Spitsbergen Decision. // Military Review. - July 1947. - Vol. 27 - no. 4 - P. 68.
7. Essays on the history of the development of the Arctic. Volume I. Svalbard. Pre-barents period in the history of Svalbard
8. Pomors from Grumant Island // Magazine "Around the World". September, 1983
9. Abraham Ortelius: Septentrionalium Regionum Descrip. (English) . Barry Lawrence Ruderman Antique Maps Inc. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
10. Tsetlin M. Polar Robinsons // Science and Life. - 1973. - No. 2.
11. Peter Ludovic Le Roy. Adventures of four Russian sailors brought to the island of Svalbard by a storm.
12. Portzel A.K. The first Soviet fishing expeditions to Svalbard and Iceland (1946-1952) // Arctic and North. - 2015. - No. 18. - P. 97
13. Svalbard's history - the cruise book from Svalbard. Norsk PolarInstitute. Retrieved November 2, 2010. Archived February 17, 2012.
14. S. Patyanin // Operation Citronella. tsushima.org.ru. Retrieved November 10, 2010. Archived from the original on February 17, 2012.
15. Presence Russian Federation on the Svalbard archipelago: political, legal, economic and humanitarian aspects // Problems of the North and the Arctic of the Russian Federation: scientific information bulletin / Federation Council, Committee on Northern Affairs and Small Numbers. peoples / otv. for issue V. Ya. Streltsov. - M.: Ed. Federation Council, 2007. - Issue. 6. - S. 127. Archived from the original on February 17, 2012.
16. Portzel A.K. The first Soviet fishing expeditions to Svalbard and Iceland (1946-1952) // Arctic and North. - 2015. - No. 18. - P. 102
17. The Russian Federation will continue its presence in the Norwegian Svalbard. Look (March 24, 2009). Retrieved 5 January 2015.
18. Order of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation (Ministry of Economic Development of Russia) dated April 4, 2011 N 142 Moscow "On approval of the Rules for granting subsidies from the federal budget to the federal state unitary enterprise State Trust Arktikugol" Rossiyskaya Gazeta
19. Nikolai Nepomniachtchi, Mikhail Kurushin. [Book. 4: Disasters in the air, Ch. 2: Chronicle of the last decades] // great book disasters. - M. : Olma media group, 2007. - 255 p. - ISBN 978-5-373-01023-8.
20. Population in the settlements. Svalbard

Literature

• Belov M.I. In the footsteps of polar expeditions. - L.: Gidrometeoizdat, 1977. - 144 p.: ill. With.
• Shokalsky Yu. M. -. Svalbard // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.
• Natalya Kozlova. Island of arrested ships // Russian newspaper: newspaper. - 2005. - No. 3904.
• Hope Sorokina. Moscow will not weaken its position on Svalbard // Rossiyskaya Gazeta: Gazeta. - 2006. - No. 4024.
• Le Roy P. L. Adventures of four Russian sailors brought to the island of Svalbard by a storm / Prev. M. I. Belova. Note. V. Yu. Vize. - 4th ed. - M.: Thought, 1975. - 56 p.: ill.
• Zinger E. M. Country of mountains and glaciers // Nature: journal. - 1997. - No. 8.
• Savatyugin L. M., Dorozhkina M. V. Spitsbergen archipelago: Russian names and titles. - St. Petersburg: Nauka, 2009. - 272 p.
• Gnilorybov N. A. Coal mines in Svalbard. - Moscow: Nedra, 1988. - 191 p.
• Zinger E. M. Svalbard is an ice archipelago. - M. : Penta, 2006. - 302 p.
• Science in Svalbard: a history of Russian research. - St. Petersburg. : GAMAS, 2009. - 408 p.
• Chernyshev F. N. Russian expedition to Svalbard. - Peace of God. - 1901. - 261 p.
• N. E. Koroleva, N. A. Konstantinova, O. A. Belkina, D. A. Davydov, A. Yu. Likhachev, A. N. Savchenko, I. N. Urbanavichene. Flora and vegetation of the coast of the Grenfjord Bay (Spitsbergen archipelago). - Apatity: Ed. K & M, 2008. - 132 p.
• Mikhailov I. A. Archipelago Spitsbergen: crossroads of events and destinies. - M. : Scientific world, 2004. - S. 226. - 1000 copies. - ISBN 5-89176-256-0.
• Kokin O.V. Relief and deposits of the marginal zones of the glaciers of Western Svalbard.
• S. V. Radzievskaya. Island of Courage.
• Pospelov E. M. Geographical names of the world. Toponymic Dictionary/ resp. ed. R. A. Ageeva. - 2nd ed., stereotype. - M.: Russian dictionaries, Astrel, AST, 2002. - 512 p. - 3,000 copies. - ISBN 5-17-001389-2.
• David Roberts. Four Against the Arctic: Shipwrecked for Six Years at the Top of the World. (2003). Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-7432-2431-0.

• Starkov V.F. Essays on the history of the development of the Arctic. Volume 1: Svalbard / Ed. dr ist. Sciences A. K. Stanyukovich; Reviewers: Dr. ist. Sciences V. P. Darkevich, Ph.D. ist. Sciences V. I. Zavyalov. Institute of Archeology RAS. - Ed. 2nd. - M. : Scientific world, 2009. - 96 p. - 300 copies. - ISBN 978-5-91522-101-6.

Links

• Svalbard // Great Soviet Encyclopedia: [in 30 volumes] / ch. ed. A. M. Prokhorov. - 3rd ed. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1969-1978.
• Svalbard in the "Modern Encyclopedia"
• Svalbard in BES
• Svalbard // Small Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 4 volumes - St. Petersburg. , 1907-1909.
• Sysselmannen.no - Website of the Governor of Svalbard
• Svalbard Tourism - website of the official tourist board
• TopoSvalbard - interactive map, Norwegian Polar Institute
• The history of one city: Longyearbyen (Svalbard) on the "Echo of Moscow"
• Russian site - Svalbard. RU
• V. N. Anchishkin. arctic romance

There is an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, which consists of 4 large and more than a thousand small islands.

The largest of them bears the same name as the archipelago - Svalbard. It belongs to Norway and its people call it "Svalbard", which translates as "cool shores".

Mentions of Svalbard date back to the 12th century. Today, about 65% of the territory of the archipelago is protected by law.

Previously, few hunters and miners lived on the territory of the archipelago. Today, this space has become quite lively.

Svalbard is a typical oasis in the formidable Arctic. Its territory is covered with endless snows with sharpened peaks of hummocks and vast fields of glaciers.

In the waters of the Svalbard archipelago, icebergs are constantly floating - true cold mountains.

When the polar summer begins here, the sun shines much brighter than near Moscow or Paris, due to the special transparency and purity of the air.

There are 7 state parks on the territory of the archipelago. This - protected area Arctic, it is also called the "Top of Europe".

For polar bears, this is a real paradise.

Judge for yourself, the average population of the archipelago is about 2500 people, but there are more than 3 thousand polar bears here.

Therefore, when local residents leave their own settlements, they will certainly take weapons with them.

Most travelers visiting Svalbard arrive during the polar summer.

From May to August, the air temperature is about 5-7 degrees above zero. With the advent of summer, expeditions on foot across glaciers and plains are organized. In the northeast of Svalbard is the largest glacier in Europe - Austfon.

The unique natural features and specific landscape make the peninsula very attractive for commercial tourism.

There is such a belief among the local inhabitants that any person who has ever found himself in the Arctic falls ill with a polar bacillus, which then gives rise to an “incurable disease” in him - falling in love with nature and the exotic of the northern region.

Many people who are tired of the busy city life and daily troubles, getting into these formidable lands, are imbued with the grandeur and beauty of these places, acquire new interests for themselves and discover new, previously unknown abilities.

Flora and fauna of the Svalbard Archipelago

In the spring, discreet flora blooms and turns Svalbard into beautiful archipelago. A dwarf birch creeping along the ground releases its velvety young shoots. Small shrubs, more like the grass of the polar willow, are bright green with spring foliage. Mosses from green to dark red, blue-green lichens, cover the rocks of the fjords with a picturesque carpet.

But there are many higher (vascular) plants on the archipelago. There are about 170 species of them here. Violet saxifrages, polar poppies of an unusual yellow color, blue forget-me-not stars and lilac carnations delight the eyes of the inhabitants of Svalbard during the short polar summer.

On the archipelago, 36 species of birds arrange their nests and hatch chicks, although more than 90 species have been recorded here. But only the polar partridge lives permanently. The rest fly south for the long polar winter.

There are also a lot of mammals living on Svalbard.

This is, first of all, a polar bear, the shooting of which is prohibited, and for its killing, if it was not due to saving a life, a huge fine is imposed.

Reindeer and arctic foxes are also found here. Seals, harp seals, bearded seals, walruses, whales and beluga whales live freely on the rookeries.

On the archipelago, animals live in their native nature, not disturbed by man. After all, even to take a walk, a tourist must obtain permission from the governor and pay the rent of a hunting rifle.

Tourists arriving in Svalbard can choose to hike for 3-5 hours with an experienced guide.

Or you can go for a few days. Such services are offered by several travel agencies in Longyearbyen. The cost of the trip includes food, transport, tents and sleeping bags.

But if you're not satisfied hiking, you can take a cruise on a ship in Svalbard.

The ship will take you to Barentsburg or show you bird colonies deafening with their cry on the rocky ledges of fjords and glaciers and Mount Pyramid, and maybe the ghost town of the same name lying at its foot.

On Svalbard, you can also order horseback riding excursions, polar safari, dog riding, kayaking, fishing on rented boats or boats.

Since 1975, with the opening of the airport in Longyearbyen, more and more tourists from all over the world come to Svalbard. In winter, planes from Tromso arrive five times a week, and in summer they make 6-7 flights.

If you are not on a tight budget, you can book an eight-day cruise around the archipelago for July and August with stops in Barentsburg, Longyearbyen and Ny-Ålesund.

Longyearbyen- most tourist village on Svalbard, as most of the hotels and campsites are located here.

But keep in mind that you may have to pay extra for using the toilet, hot water in the shower.

You can pay with Russian rubles in the village. Barentsburg, and in Longyearbyen they accept Swedish kronor.

And although, under the Prague Agreement, the entire Svalbard became a tax-free zone and some goods are cheaper than on the mainland, it should be borne in mind that the delivery of products to the polar archipelago is very expensive. Therefore, if possible, you should take a tent and some supplies of food with you. Yes, and the rest itself, excursions, services of conductors are not economy class.

Click on image to enlarge

The Svalbard Tourism Authority advises all travelers in the archipelago to carry guns or use services local guides. Renting a gun for 4 weeks does not require a special gun permit.

How to get to the Svalbard archipelago

In the city of Longyearbyen - the capital of Svalbard - almost constantly carried out daily flights from the capital of Norway - Oslo with a change in Tromsø.

You can get there with SAS (via Tromsø and direct flights from Oslo) and Norwegian (only direct flights from Oslo).

Estimated flight time

• from Oslo is – 2 hours 45 minutes
• from Tromsø – 1 hour 40 minutes.

You can get a Schengen visa in your passport or a tourist voucher in just five working days, but even a visa does not guarantee that the border guards will not prohibit entry.

general information

Numbers

Climate and weather

Economy

Attractions

Natural

Norwegian national parks Northwest Svalbard, Indre Vijdefjord, Nordenskiöld Land, Nordre Isfjord, Sassen-Bünsov Land, Sør-Svalbard and Vorlandet, Nordenskiöld and Brosvelbrin glaciers, Adventfjord, Longyearbyen river and valley, Nordenskiöld peninsula (bird colonies, Western Svalbard), Troll and Jotun thermal springs, Esker Valley waterfalls, Isoyan Ornithological Reserve.

historical

The ruins of a whaler's camp and a cemetery of the 17th century, the abandoned mining villages of Advent City and Iorhamn (Western Svalbard, early 20th century), the northernmost railway in the world (Barentsburg).

Cultural

Museum of Svalbard, Svalbard International University (1993), monument lost expedition S. Andre (Bely, 1997), Svalbard Aviation Museum (2008), Museum of Pomeranian Culture, Flora and Fauna of the Arctic (Barentsburg).

Cult

Svalbard Lutheran Church (1958), Russian Chapel Orthodox Church(Barentsburg).

Curious facts

Permafrost, endless snowy landscapes and regular polar bears - this is the portrait of Svalbard in general terms. However, in this realm of ice, tourism is developed by a solid five with a plus: the hotels of the capital of the archipelago during the season are literally packed with those who want to join harsh winter- and this despite the very high cost of accommodation. Absolutely everything is expensive on Svalbard, but this does not bother tourists - most of them are preparing to conquer the North Pole, and the smaller part enjoy exotic tourism: kayaking among icebergs, watching polar bears and visiting abandoned coal mines.

The capital is Longyearbyen.

Settlements - Barentsburg, Ny-Alesund, Pyramid.

Svalbard - a brief educational program

Svalbard is the Russian name for the archipelago. In Norwegian, the islands are called Svalbard and have been part of the kingdom since 1920. economic activity on Spitsbergen, due to the special status of the archipelago, two states carry out at once: Norway and Russia. Our country owns here the village of Barentsburg and the now mothballed mining settlements of Piramida and Grumant.

The archipelago consists of three large and seven small islands, as well as a large number of small ones. uninhabited islets. The largest and most developed island is Western Svalbard, it is here that the capital of the Longyearbyen archipelago and other Norwegian and Russian settlements are located. Total number The inhabitants of the archipelago do not exceed 3,000 people.

The Norwegian name for the archipelago Svalbard literally means "cold land" - a very appropriate name for the realm of snow and ice.

How to get to Svalbard

A direct flight to Svalbard from Russia is an almost unattainable luxury: charters are organized only a few times a season and are intended primarily for researchers and civil servants traveling to the archipelago on state business.

Regular flights to Svalbard's only airport, Longyearbyen, are operated by Norwegian Airlines and SAS. Norwegian Airlines flights connect Oslo and Longyearbyen three times a week throughout the year, during the season (from March to August) the number of flights increases. Flight time is about 3 hours. SAS aircraft fly between Oslo, Tromsø and Longyearbyen also three times a week during the year and more frequently during the summer season.

A special pleasure is to arrive in Svalbard during the Arctic cruise on the legendary "Captain Khlebnikov".

Search for flights to Oslo (nearest airport to Svalbard)

Visa to Svalbard

Although Svalbard is part of Norway, it is not part of the Schengen area. As such, a visa to Svalbard is not needed for citizens of 41 countries, including Russia. However, given that you can only enter here through the territory of Norway, you will need double a Schengen visa - after all, on the way back from the archipelago, tourists will again have to enter Norway, and only then follow to Russia.

6 things to do in Svalbard

1. See the northern lights from a snowmobile somewhere in the middle of the endless snow-covered valleys of the island.
2. Look at the polar bear in its living and immediate size.
3. Learn how to handle a gun before the polar bear looks at you more closely.
4. Dine in style at one of Scandinavia's finest restaurants.
5. Find a prehistoric fossil with a fern and take it as a souvenir to Russia.
6. Kayak around amazing blue icebergs.

What to ride

Svalbard has the only "civilized" road - the highway leading from Longyearbyen Airport to the city and beyond, to the so-called mine number 7. However, it cannot boast of an asphalt surface either. The streets of Longyearbyen are no different from the streets European cities, and almost every local has a car. In winter, everyone rides snowmobiles. Ferries run between the islands in summer, and light aircraft flights in winter. The ocean around Svalbard does not freeze, so ships sail here all year round.

A shuttle bus meets each flight at the airport and takes tourists to Longyearbyen hotels. Similarly, he collects departing.

Weather in Svalbard

The Norwegian name for the archipelago Svalbard literally means "cold land" - a very appropriate name for the realm of snow and ice. However, the climate in Svalbard is not at all as harsh as it appears on the map. The warm North Atlantic current washes the archipelago, preventing a permanent ice cover from settling around - if not for its waters, the coast of Svalbard would be surrounded by ice all year round.

The average temperature in July in Svalbard is about +4...+6 °С, in January - about -11...-15 °С, which is an incredible 20 °C higher than the thermometer in similar latitudes of Eurasia and North America. High tourist season lasts here from June to August, but the period from March to May is also popular - this time of year is ideal for a variety of winter fun: there is still a lot of snow, and the sun is already shining with might and main.

From the end of April to the end of August, Svalbard has a polar day, but the sun is often hidden by fog.

The number of fossils aged from 40 to 60 million years on Svalbard is so large that it is allowed to freely export the found from the archipelago.

Tourist safety

Polar bears and frostbite are the two main dangers that await tourists in Svalbard. To protect against the first, every inhabitant of the archipelago carries a gun with him - even going to the pub to drink beer with friends. And the most important thing that local students start with on the first day of the school year is how to shoot a gun. Tourists are invited to rent a gun in one of Longyearbyen's specialized shops - but not everyone will need this measure: only if you plan to make solo trips outside the so-called zero zone - Longyearbyen, Barentsburg, Pyramid and the surrounding area. In this case, you will also need special permission from the governor and a solid deposit - in case of emergency evacuation and (it is not even an hour) repatriation of the body to your homeland.

It is much easier to protect yourself from frostbite: in the summer it does not threaten, and in winter you will need special Arctic clothing, including thermal underwear, and a hat that covers your face as much as possible. At the Svalbard tourism office, tourists are given a detailed memo on how to dress in the archipelago in winter.

Svalbard Hotels

Hotels in Svalbard are located exclusively in Longyearbyen. True, there is one hotel each in Barentsburg and Ny-Ålesund, but in the first case we are talking about a very old Soviet building with an appropriate level of comfort, and in the second - a base for scientists.

There are about a dozen hotels in Longyearbyen, ranging from simple guesthouses to the Radisson. The accommodation options are very exotic: a former radio station converted into a hotel (the satellite dish in front of the entrance remained as a monument), a sailing schooner frozen (or rather, frozen) in the ice with nice cabins-numbers, a lodge on the shore of the Arctic Gulf ... Well, the comfort of the highest class (at a hefty price tag, of course) you'll find at the gorgeous Radisson Blu Polar Hotell.

Accommodation in Longyearbyen bites noticeably - for the simplest room in an ordinary boarding house, get ready to pay at least 100-120 EUR “from the nose”.

Prices on the page are for October 2018.

Cuisine and restaurants in Svalbard

Due to the remoteness of Svalbard from " mainland” and location almost at the North Pole, the local cuisine is full of amazing features. Fruits and vegetables are practically non-existent here (with the exception of "long-lasting" potatoes, carrots, etc.), and perishable foods are extremely scarce and very expensive. The basis of Svalbard cuisine is canned, frozen and dried ingredients, from which local chefs manage to make really delicious dishes.

From the "pasture" and fresh in the menu of restaurants, you can find dishes from walrus, seal and reindeer. But you won’t be able to taste bear meat: only a few white clubfoot are shot a year on special instructions from the governor.

Despite the apparent detachment of Svalbard from the modern world, the restaurants here are able to “do” the pompous Parisian establishments. Restaurant Huset, for example, boasts the best wine cellar in all of Scandinavia - there are more than 22 thousand valuable bottles! And the Karls-Berger pub is ranked sixth in the ranking of drinking establishments in the world.

The North Pole has a neighbor - Svalbard

Shopping and shops

Shopping in Svalbard is pleasant and in many ways profitable: the entire territory of the archipelago is a duty-free zone. First of all, this applies to alcohol, tobacco products, cosmetics, perfumes and sports equipment. Here you can get branded Arctic workwear and shoes with great profit for your wallet. Alcohol is sold at the Nordpolet wine market. Most shops are open from 10 am to 6 pm on weekdays and from 10 am to 3 pm on Saturdays, closed on Sunday.

Typical Svalbard souvenirs are all kinds of images of polar bears, from photo postcards to plates and toys of various sizes. Also, "all-Norwegian" goods are popular here - sweaters and other knitwear with deer and snowflakes, warm winter shoes.

The best selection of souvenirs is in the "duty free" 78 Grader and in the boutique at the Svalbard Museum in Longyearbyen.

Entertainment and attractions of Svalbard

Excursions and entertainment in Svalbard have snow and ice as their primary components. At the service of tourists - cross-country skiing trips lasting from an hour to full day, dog sledding and snowmobiling. For physically prepared tourists, expeditions are offered inland, lasting from 5 to 14 days - also on skis, dog sleds and snowmobiles. During the night tour on snowmobiles, you can admire northern lights and a deserted snow-covered country away from Longyearbyen. It is also worth going hiking through the ice caves located right in the thickness of the glaciers, or conquering one of the peaks of Svalbard, for example, the 850-meter "troll stone" Trollstein.

In summer, cruises around the archipelago, kayaking, horseback riding, quad safaris and hiking. Tours are also offered for paleontologists: on the slopes of the Lars and Longyearbyen glaciers, you can find many fossils with imprinted silhouettes of plants and animals, which are between 40 and 60 million years old. Their number is so great that what is found is allowed to be freely exported from Svalbard.

You should also definitely visit the Svalbard Museum, which tells interesting stories about the geology and history of the region, its unique flora and fauna, and human activities. Longyearbyen is also home to the northernmost church in the world. At the Svalbard Aeronautics Museum you can learn about the heroic attempts of aviation pioneers to reach the North Pole. And in the Store Gallery you can see the work of a local artist.