Longyearbyen · 78.22 N 15.63 E

Svalbard Wire

Est. 2026

Everything said about Svalbard, in one place

Sunday 14 December 2025Before the Wire, which starts 26 October 2026Updated 23:59

Daylight on 14 December: none, polar night, day 49. Polar night, day 49 of 111. The sun returns 15 February.

Polar night, day 49 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

1989

The company town ends

For a long time Longyearbyen was a company town, where the mining company ran most of the activity and the infrastructure. In 1989 the typical community services were split off into their own companies.

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