Longyearbyen · 78.22 N 15.63 E

Svalbard Wire

Est. 2026

Everything said about Svalbard, in one place

Monday 4 August 2025Before the Wire, which starts 26 October 2026Updated 23:59

Daylight on 4 August: 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, Discovery and whaling

1596

Barentsz finds Spitsbergen

The Dutchman Willem Barentsz discovered Spitsbergen in 1596. He named the land after the sharp, jagged peaks he saw. The name Svalbard is older and appears in Icelandic annals for 1194.

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