Pyramiden is a Russian settlement and coal mining community on the archipelago of Svalbard, Norway. Founded by Sweden in 1910 and sold to the Soviet Union in 1927, Pyramiden was closed in 1998 and has since remained largely abandoned with most of its infrastructure and buildings still in place.
Spitsbergen – “polar desert” – how often we meet this erroneous cliché and as easily take for granted related dismal performance! In our minds are drawn eternal darkness, cold, blizzards, glaciers, wildlife, poverty, inconvenience. In fact it is not – in Svalbard virginity, as anywhere in the world, nature, no environmental pollution, clean meltwater. Here amazing polar summer, when light and sun all day because of the special transparency and purity of air at midnight shines brighter than at noon near Moscow or near Paris.
Pyramiden is accessible by boat or snowmobile from Longyearbyen, either as part of a guided tour or independently. There are no restrictions on visiting Pyramiden, still owned by Trust Arktikugol, but visitors are not allowed to enter any buildings without permission even if they are open. While most buildings are now locked, breaking into the buildings, vandalism and theft of “souvenirs” have become a serious threat to Pyramiden as it contributes to the accelerating deterioration of the buildings.
Been here for a lifetime to keep a keen sense of joy from the first meeting with this amazing archipelago, and for many years it will disturb the desire to come back here again. No one who lived in it a few days or even for many years failed to determine the cause of his special power of attraction.
Since 2007, Trust Arktikugol has been renovating the hotel and upgrading the infrastructure, including building a new power station with diesel generators, in order to accommodate tourists in the old settlement. Up to 30 workers have been living in the settlement year round to maintain the facilities and guide the tourists visiting from Longyearbyen. As of 2013, the Tulip hotel has been reopened and it is possible to stay overnight in Pyramiden. In addition, there is a small hotel built of old shipping containers near the harbour However, there are no plans to renovate and reopen the whole settlement.
Spitsbergen, “Ice Eldorado” Svalbard – Arctic archipelago, located at the junction of three seas – the Norwegian, Greenland and Barents Sea, is a marginal uplift of the Barents-Kara plate. Relatively good nudity and the presence of uneven formations define the key role of Spitsbergen for understanding the history of the Atlantic sector of the Arctic.
Spitsbergen includes more than a thousand islands, large and small, with a total area of ​​62 700 square kilometers. Most of its territory is occupied by five islands: Spitsbergen, The Edge, Barents, North East Land and Prins Karls Forland.