Longyearbyen (, , "Longyear Town") is one of the world's northernmost settlements, with an estimated population of around 2,400–2,800, and is the capital and largest settled area of Svalbard. It stretches along the foot of the left bank of the Longyear Valley and on the shore of Adventfjorden, the short estuary leading into Isfjorden on the west coast of Spitsbergen, the island's broadest inlet. As of 2002, Longyearbyen Community Council is an official Norwegian municipality. It is the seat of the Governor of Svalbard. As of 2024, the town's mayor is Leif Terje Aunevik.

Known as Longyear City until 1926, the town was established by and named after American John Munro Longyear, whose Arctic Coal Company started coal-mining there in 1906. Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani (SNSK) took over the mining operations in 1916, and still conducts mining. The German Kriegsmarine almost completely destroyed the town on 8 September 1943, but rebuilding took place after the Second World War. Historically, Longyearbyen was a company town, but most mining operations moved to Sveagruva during the 1990s, and production ceased in 2017 due to immense financial losses suffered by SNSK since 2014 due to market conditions. Meanwhile, the town has seen a large increase in tourism and research. This includes the arrival of institutions such as the University Centre in Svalbard, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault and Svalbard Satellite Station. Svalbard Airport, Svalbard Church and the Svalbardbutikken department store serve the community.

History

Early 20th century

In 1896, Vesteraalens Dampskibsselskab started tours to Hotellneset. To accommodate tourists, they built a prefabricated hotel, but it was not profitable and was closed after the 1897 season. However, two families overwintered in 1898–99, and Norway Post operated a post office at Hotellneset from 1897 to 1899. The company had American administration, but mostly Norwegian labourers, and named the town Longyear City. instead the British Army started Operation Gauntlet to evacuate Spitsbergen. On 29 August 1941, the entire population of Ny-Ålesund was evacuated to Longyearbyen, and on 3 September 765 people were evacuated from Longyearbyen to Scotland. Later, the last 150 men were also evacuated. The community centre Huset opened in 1951. In 1957, a principal was hired at the primary school and a new church was opened on 24 August 1958. The airport was opened in 1975 and initially provided four weekly services to mainland Norway and semi-weekly services to Russia.

thumb|[[University Centre in Svalbard]]

During the 1990s, the authorities started a process to "normalise" Longyearbyen by abolishing the company town scheme and introducing a full range of services, a varied economy and local democracy.

21st century

thumb|left|Mine 2b was mined from 1938 to 1969 and today, it is a heritage site

The Norwegian side of Svalbard in January 2021 announced its plans to phase out all the coal mining activities on the island. On 30 June 2025 the Mine 7, the last Norwegian coal mine in Svalbard, was closed, though the mine in Barentsburg continued operation.

Following the 2022 Russian invasion into Ukraine, Longyearbyen and the Svalbard island became an important geopolitical location for Russia and NATO, due to the relative proximity of Svalbard to the Kola Peninsula, an important Russian port housing its nuclear-armed naval fleet, and its strategic location for Western intelligence, which potentially mean it can become a target of Russia. In 2022 Russian trawlers were spotted as they severed an undersea communications cable that connected mainland Norway to Svalbard. In May 2025 Britain's foreign secretary, David Lammy, arrived in Svalbard to promote "close defence and intelligence ties with Norway and mutual efforts to track hostile activity in the Arctic".

Geography

thumb|View of the central parts of Longyearbyen from [[Platåberget. The body of water is Adventfjorden while the valley up to the right is Adventdalen.]]

thumb|Longyearbyen seen from the top of the hill

Longyearbyen is in the lower portion of the Longyear Valley, along the Longyear River. The lower parts of the town lie along the southwestern shore of the bay of Adventfjorden, a branch of Isfjorden. Longyearbyen is on the Nordenskiöld Land peninsula of Spitsbergen, the largest island of the Svalbard archipelago. The northernmost permanent settlement in the world is Alert, Canada, in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, while the true northernmost settlement in the world is Camp Barneo in April.

Longyearbyen is divided into several neighbourhoods. On the west side of the river, along the bay, lies the port and affiliated utility and industrial services. The western part of this area is called ' and the eastern part '. Above lies ', the site of the governor's offices. Slightly up the valley on the west side lies ' () and the church. Even further up lies the graveyard, then ' and the cinema, and finally '. Most of the residential, commercial and cultural institutions are on the east side of the river. Along the bay the area is called '. Further up lies the university centre and ', the largest residential area. Southwards from there is the main shopping area as well as the town hall. To the east is the residential area ' and further up ', which is also the location of the school. Furthest up in the valley is Mine 2b and ', which is mostly used as student housing. Westwards out of town towards ' is the airport and Mine 3. The remaining mines are in ', to the east of town.

Climate

thumb|Longyearbyen outskirts

Longyearbyen has a polar tundra climate (Köppen: ET, Trewartha: Ftkc) tempered by the North Atlantic Current. The west coast of Svalbard is the warmest and wettest part of the archipelago (except for Bear Island). This is caused by the convergence of mild and humid air from the south and cold air from the north. Longyearbyen generally has lower humidity than other settlements within the Arctic Circle. Longyearbyen experiences midnight sun from 18 April to 24 August (128 days), polar night from 27 October to 15 February (111 days), and civil polar night from 13 November to 29 January. However, due to shading from mountains, the sun is not visible in Longyearbyen until around 8 March. Snow typically covers the town from November to March. The warmest temperature ever recorded in Longyearbyen was in July 2020 Svalbard and Longyearbyen are among the places in the world that have warmed fastest in the latest decades.

, Longyearbyen is the fastest-warming town in the world. Since 1971, temperatures on Svalbard have risen five times faster than the global average, by roughly . Winters now are more than warmer than they were in the 1970s. In 2020, Svalbard recorded its hottest ever temperature, , following 111 months of above-average heat. According to the Norwegian Meteorological Institute, annual precipitation on Svalbard has increased by 30 to 45 per cent over the past 50 years, mostly in the form of winter rain. Since 2009, deep permafrost temperatures have increased at rates between per year.

Although Alert, Canada, likely has a lower average UV index, Longyearbyen has the lowest recorded average UV index for any current or previously inhabited place on Earth. Between April and September, the UV index typically ranges from 1 to 2, with May, June, and July having the highest UV index of 2. All other months average at 0, giving Longyearbyen a mean UV index of 0.75 over 12 months.

Demographics

thumb|left|Tourists visit the main street, with a shopping mall closest and the town hall further down

On 31 August 2020, the Longyearbyen Tax Office registered 2,354 people as residents. The majority regional group were Norwegians, amassing into 64.5%, with the rest hailing from 53 countries outside Norway. The three biggest national minorities were Thai (137 people, 9%), Swedes (108 people, 7%) and Filipinos (100 people, 7%). As of 2009, roughly 300 people (16%) were non-Norwegian citizens, with the largest nationalities being from Thailand, Sweden, Russia, Philippines, and Ukraine. In 2012, the majority of Norwegians were originally from Northern Norway, particularly Nordland and Troms, and made up more than 40% of the population.

In 2014, Thai people numbered at 120 and were the second largest group of residents after Norwegians; there were 60 in 2006. Thais first came to Svalbard when men brought their wives from Thailand during the 1970s. In 2006, most of the Thai residents worked as cleaners. The Thai community is active in numerous cultural events annually and motivated the establishment of a Thai supermarket. The council's main responsibilities are infrastructure and utilities, including power, land-use and community planning, education from kindergarten to upper secondary level and child welfare. It operates three kindergartens in addition to the 13-grade Longyearbyen School. Foreigners do not need a visa, work permit, or residence permit to stay there, due to Svalbard being outside of the Schengen Area.

thumb|Longyearbyen hospital

No care or nursing services and welfare payments are available. Norwegian residents retain pension and medical rights through their mainland municipalities. The University Hospital of North Norway operates a clinic, Longyearbyen Hospital. Longyearbyen is subordinate to Nord-Troms District Court and Hålogaland Court of Appeal, both in Tromsø.

The Svalbard Treaty of 1920 established full Norwegian sovereignty over the archipelago. The treaty came into effect in 1925, following the Svalbard Act that established the institution of the Governor of Svalbard. The governor holds responsibility as both county governor and chief of police, as well as holding other authority granted from the executive branch. Duties include environmental policy, family law, law enforcement, search and rescue, tourism management, information services, contact with foreign settlements and judge in some areas of maritime inquiries and judicial examinations—albeit never in the same cases as acting as police.<!--latter is supplementary, primary source--> Kjerstin Askholt has been governor since 2015; she is assisted by a staff of 26 professionals. The institution is subordinate to the Ministry of Justice and the Police, but reports to other ministries in matters within their portfolio.

thumb|left|Upper part of the Longyear Valley, with the buildings of Sverdrupbyen to the left, [[Huset to the right and an aerial tramway in the background]] Because of the special treaty status of Svalbard, Longyearbyen is subject to Norwegian legislation, but citizens of any signatory country may conduct commercial activities and live in town. However, people without a source of income can be rejected by the governor. The treaty limits Norway's right to collect taxes to that of financing services on Svalbard. Therefore, Longyearbyen has a lower income tax than mainland Norway, and there is no value added tax. The treaty has resulted in Longyearbyen being a demilitarized zone

Starting with the 2023 Norwegian local elections, voters for the Longyearbyen community council must have previously resided in mainland Norway for at least 3 years. Previously, foreign citizens who had lived in Longyearbyen itself for 3 years had also been allowed to vote, with the rule change disenfranchising a significant percentage of the settlement's population. While it is popularly claimed that it is illegal to die in Longyearbyen, the wording of this claim is misleading. While it is not actually illegal to die in the town, there are no options for burial of bodies there (ashes can be buried with permission from the government) and residents considered terminally ill are typically required to move to the mainland. The decision to disallow burials came in 1950, when it was discovered that the bodies of residents who had died as a result of the 1918 flu pandemic had not begun to decompose. Today, scientists are concerned that these corpses, preserved by permafrost may still harbor live strains of the virus responsible for killing between 1% and 6% of the world's population during the early 20th century.

Culture

The community council runs a number of cultural activities, such as a cinema, a youth club, a library and a gallery. Svalbard Church of the Church of Norway has the entire archipelago as its parish. The congregational hall is while the sitting room is . The church is built in half-timber. and the Spitsbergen Airship Museum. Solfestuka () takes place each year during the week surrounding 8 March, the date sunlight is first visible in most of the town after the polar night that began the previous October (the first official sunrise is usually 16 February, but most of the town is still in shadow due to the surrounding mountains). Dark Season Blues has been held annually in October since 2003. Polarjazz has been held in late January/early February since 1998. Since 2011, there has been a club of supporters for the Liverpool football team, called the Liverbirds Svalbard. Arctic Film Festival is a film festival held annually in the city's screening venue, Kulturhuset.

An abandoned coal mine near Longyearbyen contains a steel vault constructed by Piql, a Norwegian data-storage company, alongside Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani as a part of the Arctic World Archive project. The vault stores data of historical and cultural interest from several countries, as well as all of American multinational company GitHub's open source code. It was opened on 27 March 2017.

The town houses Svalbard Bryggeri, the northernmost commercial brewery in the world.

Sports

The town's sole known organised sports club is Svalbard Turn.

Beyond the walls of Svalbardhallen, the websites of Svalbard Turn claim they host the Spitsbergen Marathon and the Svalbard Skimaraton ( freestyle, though many participants use classic style).

Media

Svalbardposten is a weekly newspaper published on Friday. Printing takes place in Tromsø and the majority of subscribers live on the mainland. Icepeople, an alternative newspaper in English, is also published weekly. which in turn resulted in Svalbard being added to the national newscasts' weather reports. Allente pay-TV satellite signals have effectively been receivable since the Canal Digital signals became publicly available in mainland Norway.

In regards to radio, NRK P1 (most likely the Troms and Finnmark opt-out), P4 (Norway), and Radio Norge have been known to be available. As of July 2020, the Skjæringa mast was the only known remaining medium wave AM (or any AM range) broadcaster of an NRK station. DAB radio broadcasting began in August or September 2016, followed by FM radio shutting down in December 2017. Only the NRK DAB network with 13 stations was planned to be set up as of February 2016.

Fiber broadband is provided by the Svalbard Undersea Cable System.

Economy

thumb|Old coal filling station. Drawing by Max Presnyakov, 2014.

Coal production peaked in 2007 at 4.1 million tonnes, and reduced to 1.1 million tonnes in 2015. The power station was scheduled for a NOK 60 million maintenance work, and the local authorities decided a NOK 40 million upgrade of the diesel power plant instead.

Most of Store Norske's production was done at Sveagruva, on Van Mijenfjorden, south of Longyearbyen. No roads connect the communities; instead, workers lived in dormitories in Svea until it closed in 2017. Seventy per cent commute home to the mainland while thirty per cent commute to Longyearbyen. Mining has not been profitable and Store Norske relies on state subsidies to retain production.

Svalbard fisheries have witnessed an unforeseen consequence of global warming: Atlantic cod, mackerel, and snow crabs, fleeing warmer waters to the south, are heading north to Svalbard, swelling the local catch. In the decade of the 2020s, Norway values its Svalbard fishing trade at about US$94 million annually. In 2006, about 9,000 research days were spent in Longyearbyen, most of which were by Norwegians. This made Longyearbyen the second-largest research outpost on Svalbard, marginally below Ny-Ålesund. In contrast, Longyearbyen has almost only Norwegian research, while Ny-Ålesund is roughly evenly split between Norwegian and foreign.

thumb|left|The [[EISCAT radar]]

Svalbard Satellite Station was built because of Longyearbyen's excellent location to download data from satellites in polar orbit. At Platåberget above Hotellneset, it was built as a cooperation between NASA and the Norwegian Space Centre, but has since 2001 been operated by Kongsberg Satellite Services. EISCAT operates an incoherent scatter radar to study the northern lights.

Longyearbyen is the centre of tourism on the archipelago, although most tourism is generated based on natural experiences rather than visiting the town itself. However, Longyearbyen does provide supplies (including Svalbardbutikken, the area's only grocery store), accommodation and several museums. In 2008, Longyearbyen experienced 89,000 guest-nights, up from 30,000 in 1995. The average guest stayed 2.2 nights and 60 per cent of the capacity was used by tourists. About 40,000 tourists flew into Longyearbyen. Two-thirds of the tourists come from Norway. In 2007, the tourism industry had a revenue of NOK&nbsp;291 million and produced 200-man-years. The Svalbard society received NOK 380 million in public funding in 2008, which increased to 650 million in 2015.

The Czech Arctic Research Station is also based in Longyearbyen and provides facilities for researchers and students not only from the Czech Republic but from all over the world.

Transport

thumb|right|Until 1987, a series of [[aerial tramways were used to haul coal from the mines to the port]]

Longyearbyen has a road network stretching , but the network does not extend to any other communities. In 2008 there were 1,481 registered road vehicles and 49 percent of all households had a car.

Snowmobiles are a popular mode of transport, and there are more snowmobiles than residents. In 2008, there were registered 2,672 snowmobiles, and 69 per cent of households owned at least one in Longyearbyen. Scandinavian Airlines operates daily flights to Oslo and Tromsø, and there are irregular flights to Russia. Lufttransport operates regular charter services to Svea Airport and Ny-Ålesund Airport, Hamnerabben. Arktikugol operates helicopters to Barentsburg and Pyramiden. From 1907 to 1987, the mining companies operated a network of aerial tramways to transport coal from the mines to the port.

<gallery>

File:Svalbard DSCF1425 (23304828213).jpg|Longyearbyen at night

File:Telenor base stations Hotellneset IMG 2413.JPG|Bjørndalen base station

File:Longyearbyen Nice Houses - panoramio.jpg|Houses in Longyearbyen

File:Longyearbyen unterwegs in Longyearbyen 37.jpg|View of the city

File:UNIS01.jpg|University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS)

</gallery>

See also

  • List of northernmost settlements

Notes

References

Further reading

  • Longyearbyen Community Council