Everything you need to know about Svalbard before your trip, from currency to language, local festivals, time zones & safety of the water. Plus great ideas about what to see, do and eat while in Svalbard!
From Old Norse Svalbarði, svalr = cold and barð = edge, ridge, turf or beard. Called Spitsbergen, or Spitzbergen when it was discovered by the Dutch spitse + bergen meaning pointed mountains or, in Dutch. Re-named Svalbard by the Norwegians when they took administrative & legislative control in 1925.
The name is a reference to a land mentioned in the 14th-century Islandske Annaler (Icelandic Annals) which records it’s discovery in 1194 by Norse Vikings, 400 years earlier than the generally accepted history of the Dutch discovery. It’s also mentioned in the Norwegian Landnámabók (Book of Settlements, early 12th century) though detractors claim the land called Svalbard in those text actually referred to a part of Greenland’s coast.
Why It's Worth a Visit
There is nothing quite so peaceful as the silence of the frozen Arctic air, broken only by the crunch of ice crusted snow under your boots. Winter activities abound outside the village but nothing compares the wonder of the island itself in the world's most northern inhabited land.
Outside Longyearbyen
@ a glance essentials:
Norwegian
Language:
+ Russian - Most Locals can speak English.
Country's Visitation Limit:
90 Days*
Water safety
Generally Safe to Drink (may have a mineral taste, as it is sourced from glaciers)
Emergency #
112
*As a territory of Norway anytime spent in Svalbard counts as part of the Schengen visa tally, but if you wish to live & work in just Svalbard, it is the only ‘country’ in the world where you do not need a work visa and there is no maximum stay limitation.
How to Say - Hello:
Hallo, Hei
Thank You:
Takk
............................... The Norwegian expression, man skal ikke skue hunden på hårene, meaning don't look at (judge) a dog by it's hair is particularly apt in dogging sledding Svalbard.
Favorite Expression:
Hot Tip:
The threat of polar bear attacks is so high that residents are encouraged by the government to carry a firearm for protection when traveling outside the settlement. So unless you travel with a shotgun, you shouldn't venture outside of town on your own!
Svalbard is an archipelago of nine main islands in the Arctic Ocean. Before the 20th century it was international common land, used by whalers, trappers, sealers, and a coal rush, but unclaimed by any specific nation-state until Norwegian sovereignty was recognized at the Versailles peace negotiations at the end of World War I. (There are, however, still some Russian controlled mining towns in the archipelago.) Whaling and mining have mostly run there course with tourism and science and weather research centers.
a bit of background...
................The extreme frigid winters require that all houses be built on stilts, so that when the island’s layer of topsoil melts in the summer the houses don’t sink and slide away.
FUN FACT:
Longyearbyen on the Spitsbergen island is the administrative centre and was named for John Munro Longyear, whose Arctic Coal Company began surveying Svalbard in 1906. It's the world's northernmost permanently inhabited settlement, at 78° latitude, halfway between Norway and the North Pole. As such it boasts the northernmost ATM, church, museum, radio station, airport, and university in the world.
One degree north at 79° is Ny-Ålesund, the world’s northernmost settlement, only inhabited seasonally; sight of the most northern post office & Kartverket, a geodetic station measuring the earth's movements. Because of the finely tuned instruments there the whole area is under radio silence orders for 20km around - meaning if you choose to go skiing in Ny-Ålesund there are absolutely no mobile phones or wifi.
Must Try Local Cuisine:
Ukha - fish soup ▪️ Wale & Seal Steaks ▪️ Kotlety - pan-fried ground meat patties
Ptarmigan /or Rype - only year round Svalbard land bird; heart & liver are often pan-fried w/ sourdough toast
(Residents are allowed to hunt up to 10 birds per day and they're a delicacy similar in flavor & texture to a gamey red meat)
Iceberg water - a family owned company, Svalbardi, bottles iceberg pieces
SEE
DO TRY
&
VISIT
What to Where to Why . . .
Surprising Finds:
📍 Svalbard Cemetery - why is a cemetery be surprising?
Well it's actually illegal to die & be buried in Svalbard...
📍 Kesha the cat / "fox" of Barentsburg, (the old Russian mining town) worth a visit to
tour the mines, is also known for it's legendary "fox" Kesha.
Like dying, cats are illegal on the islands....
Svalbard Kirke
📍 Dog Sledding just outside Longyearbyen, 📸 was an amazing adventure!
📍 Amazing natural sights including frozen glacial Ice Waterfalls like Eskerfossen,
picturesquevalley's like hidden Brattlidalen or the larger Sassendalen
📍 Great restaurants like The Husky Cafe - were you enjoy the company of several pups
with your coffee or affogato. The Coal Miner's Cabins, with a hot chocolate bar, and
Vinterhagen with a mini-museum of mining artifacts in the Shang-Po-Lar (breakfast
room.) Or Tio Moncho’s the world's most northern Taquería / Taco Truck
Dog Sledding
Longyearbyen Polar Night
Most Known For:
♦️ Svalbard Seed Bank - a cold storage 'library' holding seeds from all over the world
in case of global catastrophe
🔸 History Attractions like Svalbard Museum & Mining towns like Pyramiden an
abandoned mining village preserved by the arctic temperatures, accessible only by
sea or snowmobile
♦️ Winter Sports/ Activities; Skiing, Arctic Kayaking, Snowmobiling & Whale Watching
🔸 Svalbard Bryggeri - the worlds most northern brewery make craft beer with glacial water
🌀 Solfestuka (Usually early - mid March) - an eight day celebration honoring the town’s first glimpse of the sun
after over four months of polar night. People wear sun-ray hats, scarfs & medallions and gather in town
to watch the sunrise. The week includes concerts and snow themed competitions.
Cool Local
Festivals:
Going to visit
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Site Key:
Five Star Recommend
Make the Time!
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