Svalbard This day, 1 January
2002
The local council begins
Longyearbyen lokalstyre was established on 1 January 2002. By then many of the tasks the coal company once handled had passed to other bodies.
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Thursday 1 January 2026Before the Wire, which starts 26 October 2026Updated 23:59
Polar night, day 67 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, 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
- 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