The polar archipelago of Svalbard was first discovered by Willem Barentsz in 1596, although there is disputed evidence of use by Pomors or Norsemen. Whaling for bowhead whales started in 1611, dominated by English and Dutch companies, though other countries participated. At that time there was no agreement about sovereignty. Whaling stations, the largest being Smeerenburg, were built during the 17th century, but gradually whaling decreased. Hunting was carried out from the 17th century by Pomors, but from the 19th century it became more dominated by Norwegians.
Exploration was initially conducted to find new whaling grounds, but from the 18th century some scientific expeditions took place. These were initially large scale, but from the late 19th century they became smaller and increasingly focused on the interior. The most important scientific explorers were
Baltazar Mathias Keilhau, Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld and Martin Conway. Sustainable mining started in 1906 with the establishment of Longyearbyen and by the 1920s, permanent coal mining settlements had been established at Barentsburg, Grumant, Pyramiden, Svea and Ny-Ålesund. The Svalbard Treaty came into effect in 1925, granting Norway sovereignty of the archipelago, but prohibiting "warlike activities" and establishing all signatories the right to mine. This both eliminated the mare liberum status of the islands, and also saw a name change from the Spitsbergen Archipelago to Svalbard. By the 1930s, all settlements were either Norwegian or Soviet.
During the Second World War, the settlements were first evacuated and then bombed by the Kriegsmarine, but rebuilt after the war. During the Cold War there were increased tensions between Norway and the Soviet Union, particularly regarding the building of an airport. There was limited oil drilling, and by 1973 more than half the archipelago was protected. Starting in the 1970s, Longyearbyen underwent a process of "normalization" to become a regular community. Arktikugol closed Grumant in 1962 and Pyramiden in 1998, while King Bay had to close mining at Ny-Ålesund after the Kings Bay Affair. The 1990s and 2000s have seen major reductions of the Russian population and the creation of scientific establishments in Ny-Ålesund and Longyearbyen. Tourism has also increased and become a major component of the economy of Longyearbyen.
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The polar archipelago ofSvalbard was first discovered by Willem Barentsz in 1596, although there is disputed evidence of use by Pomors or Norsemen. Whaling...
The Svalbard Treaty (originally the Spitsbergen Treaty) recognises the sovereignty of Norway over the Arctic archipelago ofSvalbard, at the time called...
and the Norwegian Svalbard Act of 1925 made Svalbard a full part of the Kingdom of Norway. The Svalbard Treaty established Svalbard as a free economic...
Svalbard Airport (Norwegian: Svalbard lufthavn; IATA: LYR, ICAO: ENSB) is the main airport serving Svalbard in Norway. It is 5 km (3.1 mi) northwest of...
largest inhabited area ofSvalbard, Norway. It stretches along the foot of the left bank of the Longyear Valley and on the shore of Adventfjorden, the short...
provided as an overview of and topical guide to Svalbard: Svalbard – incorporated territory of the Kingdom of Norway comprising the Svalbard Archipelago in the...
The 2011 Svalbard polar bear attack was an attack by a presumed starving polar bear on a group of university students and their guides. The bear killed...
The Svalbard reindeer (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus) is a small subspecies or species of reindeer found on the Svalbard archipelago of Norway. Males...
Norway. The age of consent is set at 16 years, regardless of gender and of sexual orientation. In April 2022, on the 50th anniversary of the legalization...
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault (Norwegian: Svalbard globale frøhvelv) is a secure backup facility for the world's crop diversity on the Norwegian island...
Broadsword]) was the name of a German operation during the Second World War to establish meteorological stations on the Svalbard archipelago in Norway. In...
Svalbard lies under the sovereignty of Norway, but the Svalbard Treaty places several restrictions. Norway cannot use the archipelago for warlike purposes...
geology ofSvalbard encompasses the geological description of rock types found in Svalbard, and the associated tectonics and sedimentological historyof soils...
Globe Pequot Pr. Francis, D. 1990. A Historyof World Whaling. Viking. Saul, N. 1997. The Oxford Illustrated Historyof Medieval England. Oxford University...
only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago in northern Norway. Constituting the westernmost bulk of the archipelago, it borders the Arctic...
(Operation Sicily), was an eight-hour German raid on Spitzbergen, in the Svalbard Archipelago, on 8 September 1943. The battleships Tirpitz (in its only...
archaeology ofSvalbard is the study of human activity in the northerly Arctic Ocean archipelago's past. The geography, environment and climate ofSvalbard have...
Svalbard Turn is a sports club based in Longyearbyen, Norway. The club was founded on 6 September 1930, with gymnastics as its main activity. Today, the...
Svalbard is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. The climate ofSvalbard is principally a result of its latitude, which is between 74° and 81°...
Suriname HistoryofSvalbard – Svalbard (Territory of Norway) Historyof Sweden – Kingdom of Sweden Historyof Switzerland – Swiss Confederation Historyof Syria...
Arctic Mars Analog Svalbard Expedition (AMASE) uses Mars analog sites on Svalbard for testing of science questions and payload instruments onboard Mars...
NoCGV Svalbard (W303) is a Norwegian Coast Guard icebreaker and offshore patrol vessel constructed by Langsten at Tangen Verft shipyard in Kragerø and...
Agriculture in Svalbard – the archipelago containing the world's northernmost permanently inhabited settlements – has a short history, and remains a minor...
The economy ofSvalbard is dominated by coal mining, tourism and research. In 2007, there were 484 people working in the mining sector, 211 people working...
Svea, was a mining settlement in the Norwegian archipelago ofSvalbard, lying at the head of Van Mijenfjord. It was the third largest settlement in the...
Svalbard, an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean belonging to the Kingdom of Norway, uses Central European Time (CET) during the winter as standard time, which...
archipelago ofSvalbard. This figure does not include algae, mosses, and lichens, which are non-vascular plants. For an island so far north, this number of species...
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