Longyearbyen · 78.22 N 15.63 E

Svalbard Wire

Est. 2026

Everything said about Svalbard, in one place

Wednesday 10 December 2025Before the Wire, which starts 26 October 2026Updated 23:59

Daylight on 10 December: none, polar night, day 45. Polar night, day 45 of 111. The sun returns 15 February.

Polar night, day 45 of 111. 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

From the timeline, The coal town

1916

Store Norske takes over

Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani was founded in 1916 and took over the properties of the American Arctic Coal Company at Adventfjorden and Sassenfjorden. In 1934 it also took over Swedish property at Van Mijenfjorden, including Sveagruva.

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