Longyearbyen · 78.22 N 15.63 E

Svalbard Wire

Est. 2026

Everything said about Svalbard, in one place

Tuesday 25 June 2024Before the Wire, which starts 26 October 2026Updated 23:59

Daylight on 25 June: all 24 hours, midnight sun. Midnight sun, all 24 hours. The sun sets again 25 August.

Midnight sun, all 24 hours. The sun sets again 25 August.

Svalbard Wire starts on 26 October 2026. Pages before that date show the history of the island.

History

The island's past

This week in history, 30 June

2025

Mine 7 closes

Mine 7 near Longyearbyen, the last Norwegian coal mine, was closed on 30 June 2025. Store Norske then turned to property, logistics and energy.

History Store norske leksikon

From the timeline, The Svalbard Treaty

1932

A Soviet steamer runs aground on the way to Barentsburg

The Dutch owners sold Barentsburg to the Soviet state company Arktikugol in 1932. That autumn the steamer Tawaritsch Stalin, bringing workers and machinery for the Soviet mine, ran aground at the mouth of Isfjorden and was pulled off by a Soviet ship and British trawlers.

History Store norske leksikon