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History of Svalbard. 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 ...
Jan 14, 2022 · Store Norske will close its last mine in the Svalbard archipelago in 2023. The Global Seed Vault. Svalbard is best known today as a remote place in the high Arctic where Norwegian law requires residents to carry guns to protect themselves against polar bears and where no burials or cats are allowed (due to the permafrost and birdlife).
- Kim Martins
May 14, 2024 · Svalbard, archipelago, part of Norway, located in the Arctic Ocean well north of the Arctic Circle. The islands lie between longitude 10° and 35° E and latitude 74° and 81° N, about 580 miles (930 km) north of Tromsø, Norway. The archipelago is composed of nine main islands: Spitsbergen (formerly West Spitsbergen), North East Land, Edge ...
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Svalbard ( / ˈsvɑːlbɑːr ( d )/ SVAHL-bar (d), [4] Urban East Norwegian: [ˈsvɑ̂ːɫbɑr] ), previously known as Spitsbergen or Spitzbergen, is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. North of mainland Europe, it lies about midway between the northern coast of Norway and the North Pole. The islands of the group range from 74° to 81 ...
- 1,718 m (5,636 ft)
- 62,045 km² (23,956 sq mi) (not ranked)
- 917x
People also ask
Who discovered the polar archipelago of Svalbard?
When did Spitsbergen discover Svalbard?
Why is the Svalbard archipelago important?
Did Svalbard find itself in the right place at the right time?
Oct 1, 2020 · A week or so later they found Spitsbergen, Svalbard’s largest island, where they explored a little and set up a post bearing the Dutch coat of arms. The voyage then returned to Bear Island and a disagreement led to the two ships splitting up and taking different courses. Tragedy struck and Barentsz lost his life.
While the first people to visit Svalbard is disputed, there’s no denying that the island was of great importance for European hunting and trade in the 17th and 18th centuries. While the basis for interest in the archipelago was the exploration of its natural resources, today the interest in Svalbard is largely scientific.
The archipelago was probably known of already by the Vikings. Brief mentions of “cold shores” in the area, which is now instantly associated with Svalbard, appeared for the first time in 12 th-century Nordic sagas. The thing is, though, that no evidence has ever been found to confirm that the Vikings did indeed set their foot on the islands.
