Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Svalbard Highlights
Explore the Arctic wilderness by hiking ( Click here ) under the midnight sun
Travel into the fjords of inner Svalbard with a boat trip to Pyramiden ( Click
here ) and the Nordenskjöldbreen glacier
Experience the polar silence like the explorers of old on a winter dog-sledding
expedition ( Click here )
Listen to the echo of the Soviet Union on a day trip to the Russian settlement of
Barentsburg ( Click here )
Feel the exhilaration of racing through the icy wastes on a winter snowmobiling
expedition ( Click here )
Spend a sunny morning surrounded by the brilliant glaciers and turquoise waters
of Magdalenefjord ( Click here )
Immerse yourself in the natural and human history of Svalbard at the Svalbard
Museum ( Click here ) and Spitsbergen Airship Museum ( Click here )
History
The first mention of Svalbard occurs in an Icelandic saga from 1194. Officially, however,
the Dutch voyager Willem Barents, in search of a northeast passage to China, is regarded
as the first visitor from the European mainland (1596). He named the islands Spitsbergen,
or'sharp mountains'. The Norwegian name, Svalbard, comes from the Old Norse for'cold
coast'. Today, Spitsbergen is the name of Svalbard's largest island. In 1920 the Svalbard
Treaty granted Norway sovereignty over the islands and restricted military activities. Ini-
tially signed by nine nations, it now has over 40 adherents, whose citizens enjoy the same
rights and obligations on the islands as Norwegians themselves.
WHALING & HUNTING
At the time of Barents' discovery, the archipelago was uninhabited. From 1612 to 1720
English, Dutch, French, Norwegian and Danish ships engaged in whaling off the western
coast of Spitsbergen island; it's estimated that the Dutch alone slaughtered 60,000 whales.
AnEnglishgroupundertookthefirstknownoverwinteringatBellsundin1630,followed
by a Dutch group at Smeerenburg three years later; the following winter, however, scurvy
took its toll and the settlement was abandoned for winter, leaving behind a small caretaker
team, who all perished. From the early 18th century, Russian Pomor (coast-dwelling)
hunters and traders focused their attentions on Svalbard, hunting walruses, moose, seals
Search WWH ::




Custom Search