Longyearbyen · 78.22 N 15.63 E

Svalbard Wire

Est. 2026

Everything said about Svalbard, in one place

Saturday 9 November 2024Before the Wire, which starts 26 October 2026Updated 23:59

Daylight on 9 November: none, polar night, day 15. Polar night, day 15 of 112. The sun returns 15 February.

Polar night, day 15 of 112. The sun returns 15 February.

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, 5 November

1962

Explosion in the Ny-Ålesund mine

On 5 November 1962 an explosion in the coal mine at Ny-Ålesund, on the south side of Kongsfjorden on Spitsbergen, killed the whole shift of 21 men. Mining at Ny-Ålesund stopped for good the following year, and criticism of conditions at the state-owned company brought down the Gerhardsen government.

History Store norske leksikon

The timeline by era

  1. 1596Discovery and whaling, 3 entries
  2. 1715Hunting and expeditions, 4 entries
  3. 1905The coal town, 6 entries
  4. 1920The Svalbard Treaty, 4 entries
  5. 1941War and rebuilding, 4 entries
  6. 1975The modern town, 3 entries
  7. 2015The present transition, 6 entries

Open the history of Svalbard, 30 entries in 7 eras