Longyearbyen · 78.22 N 15.63 E

Svalbard Wire

Est. 2026

Everything said about Svalbard, in one place

Saturday 5 September 2026Before the Wire, which starts 26 October 2026Updated 23:59

Daylight on 5 September: sun 04:15 to 21:31; civil twilight 00:00 to 04:15, 21:31 to 00:00. Daylight 04:15 to 21:31, 17 h 16 min. The sun sets for the winter on 26 October.

Daylight 04:15 to 21:31, 17 h 16 min. The sun sets for the winter on 26 October.

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

1905

Longyear City is founded

Longyearbyen was laid out in 1905 by the American company Arctic Coal Co. It was first called Longyear City, after the company founder John Munro Longyear.

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