Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
from bankruptcy. Today, most of the few people who live here year-round enjoy one-year
tax-free contracts. There are at least seven mines dotted around Longyearbyen and the sur-
rounding area, although only one, Mine No 7, 15km east of town, is still operational.
Reflecting the days when miners would remove their coal-dust-encrusted boots at the
threshold, local decorum still dictates that people take off their shoes upon entering most
buildings in town. Exceptions include the majority of shops and places to eat. Guns must
also be left at the door just about everywhere.
Sights
Svalbard Museum MUSEUM
(
79 02 64 92; www.svalbardmuseum.no ; adult/student/child Nkr75/50/15;
10am-5pm Mar-
Sep, noon-5pm Oct-Feb)
Museum is the wrong word for this impressive exhibition space. Themes include the life
on the edge formerly led by whalers, trappers, seal and walrus hunters and, more recently,
miners. It's an attractive mix of text, artefacts and birds and mammals, stuffed and staring.
There's a cosy book-browsing area, too, where you can lounge on sealskin cushions and
rugs.
Spitsbergen Airship Museum MUSEUM
(North Pole Expedition Museum;
91 38 34 67; www.spitsbergenairshipmuseum.com ; adult/child
Nkr75/40; 9am-1pm)
This fascinating private museum houses a stunning collection of artefacts, original news-
papers and other documents relating to the history of polar exploration. With labels in
English and intriguing archive footage, you could easily spend a couple of hours here re-
living some of the Arctic's most stirring tales. Opening hours are in a state of flux. It's
across the road from the rear of the museum and tourist information office.
Galleri Svalbard GALLERY
(adult/child/concession Nkr70/20/40; 11am-5pm Mar-Sep, 1-5pm Tue-Sat & 11-3pm Sun Oct-Feb)
Galleri Svalbard features the Svalbard-themed works of renowned Norwegian artist Kåre
Tveter, so pure and cold they make you shiver, as well as works by other artists such as
Olav Storø ( www.storoe.no ) . It also has fascinating reproductions of antique maps of Sval-
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