Svalbard This week in history, 19 December
2015
Avalanche in Longyearbyen
On 19 December 2015 a large avalanche from Sukkertoppen hit ten houses in Longyearbyen and killed two people.
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Monday 15 December 2025Before the Wire, which starts 26 October 2026Updated 23:59
Polar night, day 50 of 111. The sun returns 15 February.
Svalbard Wire starts on 26 October 2026. Pages before that date show the history of the island.
From the timeline, The Svalbard Treaty
1920
The treaty is signed
The Svalbard Treaty was concluded on 9 February 1920. Negotiations had begun in Paris in 1919 on Norwegian initiative, as part of the peace settlement after the First World War. Before that, Svalbard had been no man's land.
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The timeline by era
- 1596Discovery and whaling, 3 entries
- 1715Hunting and expeditions, 4 entries
- 1905The coal town, 6 entries
- 1920The Svalbard Treaty, 4 entries
- 1941War and rebuilding, 4 entries
- 1975The modern town, 3 entries
- 2015The present transition, 6 entries