Pyramiden

Pyramiden
Abandoned town
Пирамида (Russian)
Pyramiden
Coordinates: 78°41′N 16°24′E / 78.683°N 16.400°E / 78.683; 16.400
Country	Norway
Territory	Svalbard
Island	Spitsbergen
Population (2013)
• Total	0[Note 1]

Pyramiden (meaning "the pyramid" in most Scandinavian languages; called Пирамида, Piramida, in Russian) 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.

History

Pyramiden was founded by Sweden in 1910 and sold to the Soviet Union in 1927. It lies at the foot of the Billefjorden on the island of Spitsbergen and is named for the pyramid-shaped mountain adjacent to the town. The nearest settlements are Svalbard's capital, Longyearbyen, some 50 kilometres (31 mi) to the south, Barentsburg approximately 100 kilometres (62 mi) south-west and the small research community of Ny-Ålesund, 100 kilometres (62 mi) to the west.

Owned by the state-owned Russian mining company Trust Arktikugol, which also owns the settlement of Barentsburg, Pyramiden once had a population of over 1,000 inhabitants. It was abandoned on 10 January 1998. Until 2007, Pyramiden was practically a ghost town where, within the buildings, things remained largely as they were when the settlement was abandoned in a hurry.^[1]

A book has been written about Pyramiden by Norwegian author Kjartan Fløgstad.^[2] A recent episode of the History Channel programme "Life After People" featured Pyramiden. It predicted that due to the low rate of decay in a frigid climate, the abandoned town's major buildings would be visible 500 years from now.

The world's northernmost grand piano is located at Pyramiden; a "Red October" (Красный октябрь)^[3] grand piano is located in the auditorium of the cultural centre.

Pyramiden today

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.^[4][5]

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.^[6] 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.^[5] However, there are no plans to renovate and reopen the whole settlement.

Gallery

• 

  The monument of Pyramiden, with the last ton of coal extracted from the mine behind it

• 

  The port of Pyramiden and the mountain giving the settlement its name

• 

  The old coal-fired power plant

• 

  Old Siberian-style wooden barracks built before the war

• 

  Inside the sports hall, one of the well-preserved buildings that tourists can visit

Notes

References

Bibliography

• Andreassen, Elin, Hein B. Bjerck, and Bjørnar Olsen. Persistent Memories: Pyramiden - A Soviet Mining Town in the High Arctic. (2010) Tapir Academic Press.

• Umbreit, Andreas. Spitsbergen, Svalbard, Franz Josef Land, & Jan Meyen. (2009) Bradt Travel Guides.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pyramiden.

• The City Abandoned At the Worlds End
• Pyramiden revisited by Ruin Memories archaeologists Bjerk and Andreassen

v t e Historic Mines and Processing Operations of Norway Allmannajuvet zinc mine Arendalsfeltet iron mines Blaafarveværket Cobalt Works Bærums Verk iron works Camp Morton, Svalbard coal mine Dragset Verk Folldal Gruver Fosdalens Bergverk Fossum Jernverk Gullverket Jomaforekomsten Kongsberg Silver Mines Hyllestad millstone quarry Kvikne Copper Works Lesjaverk iron works Løkken pyrite mine Moholt jernverk Moss Jernverk Nasa silver mine (on Swedish border) Næs Jernverk Odals Verk Ringerike Nickel works Pyramiden Coal mine Røros Copper Works Sveagruva coal mine Sydvaranger iron ore mines Visnes Copper Mine Åmdals Verk Ødegården Verk apatite mine

Coordinates: 78°41′N 16°24′E / 78.683°N 16.400°E / 78.683; 16.400