Longyearbyen · 78.22 N 15.63 E

Svalbard Wire

Est. 2026

Everything said about Svalbard, in one place

Friday 2 October 2026Before the Wire, which starts 26 October 2026Updated 23:59

Daylight on 2 October: sun 07:40 to 17:50; civil twilight 05:57 to 07:40, 17:50 to 19:32. Daylight 07:40 to 17:50, 10 h 10 min. The sun sets for the winter on 26 October.

Daylight 07:40 to 17:50, 10 h 10 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, Hunting and expeditions

1795

First Norwegian wintering

The first Norwegian wintering hunting expedition to Svalbard is held to have taken place in 1795 and 1796. Hunting only got properly under way about twenty-five years later.

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