Longyearbyen · 78.22 N 15.63 E

Svalbard Wire

Est. 2026

Everything said about Svalbard, in one place

Friday 9 May 2025Before the Wire, which starts 26 October 2026Updated 23:59

Daylight on 9 May: 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

From the timeline, Hunting and expeditions

1715

Russian trappers stay the winter

Russian fur trappers overwintered on Svalbard from the early eighteenth century: Store norske leksikon gives 1704 in one article and 1715 in another. Their hunting faded out around 1850, while Norwegian sealing vessels and wintering expeditions carried on.

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