| Longyearbyen |
Limousines in Longyearbyen |
Information AboutLongyearbyen |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT LONGYEARBYEN | |
| settlements established in 1906 | |
| svalbard | |
| northernmost settlements | |
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Longyearbyen is the Administrative Centre of Svalbard and is located on Spitsbergen , the largest island of the Svalbard Archipelago . Longyearbyen has approximately 1,800 inhabitants, most of them Norwegians and some Russians . It is the world's northernmost town with over 1000 people. The highest populated settlement further north than Longyearbyen is Ny-Ålesund with 30 inhabitants. As the world's northernmost town with 1000 people or more, it has the world's northernmost of many things. See the article on The World's Most Northern . GEOGRAPHY Longyearbyen is located at . Due to its location far north of the Arctic Circle , it is Polar Night from end-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 resides there. 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 tourists 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. MINING & RESEARCH Mining is still a major part of the community. The Norwegian mining company Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani runs two coal mines in Longyearbyen and Svea, and coal mining is the main employment for about half the residents. However, research activities and Tourism are growing steadily each year due to its excellent Infrastructure . The 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 which provides lectures in Geophysics , Arctic Biology , Geology and arctic technology as well as bachelor, master and PhD positions. In all it has about 300 students, but with the erection of the new Research Centre an increase of this number is intended. Students of UNIS usually live in Nybyen , an arrangement of 6 renovated mining barracks. TOURISM Most tourists to Longyearbyen arrive during the spring and summer. The spring is very popular since Spitsbergen is one of the few places in Norway where you can drive a Snowmobile in the terrain without special permission. However, due to strict Environmental Law s 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, as there is an airport just outside the town, Svalbard Airport , with regular flights to and from Tromsø and Oslo , Norway . The airport served 90,000 passengers in 2004 . MEDIA Longyearbyen has one newspaper, the Svalbardposten . EXTERNAL LINKS
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