Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
History
Barentsburg, on Grønfjorden, was first identified as a coal-producing area around 1900,
when the Kullkompaniet Isefjord Spitsbergen started operations. Several other companies
alsosankshaftsandin1920thetownwasfoundedbytheDutchcompanyNespico.Twelve
years later it passed to the Soviet Trust Arktikugol.
Like Longyearbyen, Barentsburg was partially destroyed by the British Royal Navy in
1941 to prevent it falling into Nazi hands (ironically, the German navy itself finished the
job later). In 1948 it was rebuilt by Trust Arktikugol and embarked on a period of growth,
development and scientific research that lasted until the fall of the Soviet Union.
Barentsburg,likeeveryotherpitonSvalbard,hasknowntragedy.In1996manyofthose
who perished in a plane crash during a blizzard near Adventdalen were miners' families
from the Ukraine. Then, a year later, 23 miners died in a mine explosion and fire.
Thesedays,mostofTrustArktikugol'scoalshipmentsgodirectlytothewest,notablyto
powerstationsintheNetherlands.PaychequesarenowbeingeatenupbyRussianinflation
and obsolete mining equipment is breaking down. The scientific community is reduced,
though a small team of geophysicists, meteorologists and glaciologists still researches, and
the town's population continues to dwindle.
Sights
You'll almost certainly be visiting Barentsburg as part of an organised tour. Once the guid-
ing is over, do rush around in the short time left before the boat weighs anchor and fit in a
visit to the following sights.
Pomor Museum
MUSEUM
(admission Nkr40; when tour boats are in port)
Thissimple,appealinglittlemuseum
outlines (in Russian only) the historic Pomor trade with mainland Russia, plus Russian
mining and history on Svalbard. Especially worthwhile are the excellent geological exhib-
its and the collection of artefacts suggesting Russian activity in Svalbard prior to the ar-
chipelago's accepted European 'discovery' by Willem Barents.
Chapel
CHAPEL
The small wooden Orthodox chapel above the football pitch commemorates the twin dis-
asters of 1996 and 1997.
