Sunday 2 November 2025Before the Wire, which starts 26 October 2026Updated 23:59
Polar night, day 7 of 111. The sun returns 15 February.
Svalbard Wire starts on 26 October 2026. Pages before that date show the history of the island.
This week in history, 31 October
1932
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
From the timeline, Discovery and whaling
1596
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
Svalbard