Longyearbyen

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Coordinates: 78°13′N, 15°33′E

Longyearbyen lokalstyre
Coat of arms
Motto: "unikt, trygt og skapende" (Norwegian: "unique, secure and creative")
Location of Longyearbyen and Svalbard
Country	Norway
Region	Svalbard
Founded	1906
Incorporated	January 1, 2002
Government
- Mayor	Kjell Mork (Ap)
Area
- Total	242.86 km² (93.8 sq mi)
Population (2007)
- Total	2,075 (Svalbard: 1st)
Website: http://www.lokalstyre.no/

Longyearbyen is the administrative centre of Svalbard and is located on Spitsbergen, the largest island of the Svalbard archipelago. Longyearbyen has approximately 2,075 inhabitants. It is one of the world's northernmost towns, coming in second place only after Alert, Nunavut with 75 inhabitants. As the world's northernmost town with 1,000 people or more, it has many of the world's northernmost things.

Contents 1 Geography 2 History and present day facilities 3 Mining & Research 4 Arctic Safe 5 Tourism 6 Media 7 Notes 8 External links

[edit] Geography

Due to its location far north of the Arctic Circle, it is in polar night from the end of October to mid February and polar day from mid April to mid August. Longyearbyen has an Arctic tundra climate (see Geography of Norway). The Governor of Svalbard and his administration reside in Longyearbyen.

[edit] History and present day facilities

The settlement was founded in 1906 by John Munroe Longyear, main owner of the Arctic Coal Company of Boston. "Byen" is Norwegian for "the city". It was destroyed by the Nazis in 1943 and rebuilt after World War II, with the old foundations still visible in some places.

Until the early 1990s the coal mining industry was the major employer in Longyearbyen. The daily life circled only around the mining business. Today, the community offers a wide range of activities and facilities. There is a swimming hall, a climbing wall, a big sports hall, a grocery store, three pubs, three hotels, one church, several tourist shops, a cinema (Sundays), one night club, and a squash court. There is also University Centre in Svalbard, which represents four Norwegian universities and provides university-level education in Arctic studies.

[edit] Mining & Research

Mining still plays a major role in the community. The Norwegian mining company, Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani, runs two coal mines in Longyearbyen and Svea, and coal mining employs about half the residents. Research activities and tourism are growing steadily each year due to its excellent infrastructure. Research includes ionospheric and magnetospheric facilities such as the EISCAT radar, the Auroral station and a magnetometer belonging to the IMAGE chain.

In 1993, the University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS) was opened. It is a cooperation of all four Norwegian universities, providing lectures in geophysics, arctic biology, geology and Arctic technology as well as bachelor, master and PhD positions. It has about 300 students, but with the addition of the new research centre, enrollment will increase. Most students of UNIS live in six renovated mining barracks in Nybyen.

[edit] Arctic Safe

Nicknamed "Doomsday Vault", Svalbard Global Seed Vault, an Arctic safe capable of storing millions of crop seeds, is located near Longyearbyen. Global Crop Diversity Trust administers the facility. The safe has been designed to protect against natural and human disasters, including global warming, floods and fires, and nuclear holocaust. The site was chosen for both its remoteness and ambient temperature of the permafrost. ^[1]

[edit] Tourism

Most tourists to Longyearbyen arrive during spring and summer. Spring is very popular since Spitsbergen is one of the few places in Norway where a snowmobile can be driven in open country without special permission. However, due to strict environmental laws not all of the main island of Spitsbergen is accessible. From February until November several tour operators provide a wide range of guided trips.

Longyearbyen is the world's most northern easily accessible settlement, with Svalbard Airport just outside town offering regular flights to and from Tromsø and Oslo, Norway. The airport served 90,000 passengers in 2004.

[edit] Media

Longyearbyen has one newspaper, Svalbardposten.

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• Longyearbyen travel guide from Wikitravel
• Official tourist information
• Webcams in Longyearbyen
• Svalbardposten - News from Svalbard (In Norwegian)
• The University Centre on Svalbard
• The University Centre on Svalbard Alumni/Student site
• Spitsbergen Travel Tour Operator
• Wildlife Service Tour Operator
• The Governor (Sysselmannen)
• Svalbard Science Forum SSF - Information for and about research in Svalbard
• The Store Norske Coal Mining Company
• Svalbard Airport:Facts and pictures from Avinor
• Island railways north of Europe
• Mission Svalbard — Pictures of Longyearbyen and Bjørndalen
• "A Speck of Sunlight Is a Town’s Yearly Alarm Clock," Elisabeth Rosenthal. New York Times, March 3, 2008.

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