Why Longyearbyen takes its boots off
In Longyearbyen you take your boots off at the hotel, the museum and even the library. Blame the coal: the habit goes back to the town's mining days.
Fun facts
Curious facts and short stories about Svalbard, its history, nature and everyday life.
Dogs per person: Longyearbyen's other population
How many dogs does Longyearbyen have? Hundreds of sled dogs in five dog yards, a lot of pets, rabies rules for every dog and no cats allowed at all.
Photo: Andreas Weith, CC BY-SA 4.0
Glaciers everywhere, but don't drink the tap water
Why Longyearbyen advises against drinking its tap water: manganese, then sulfate and nickel. A sip won't hurt you, and free drinking water is at the Coop store.
Photo: Bjoertvedt, CC BY-SA 3.0 no
More snowmobiles than people
Svalbard has about 3,000 registered snowmobiles, more than one for every resident of Longyearbyen and Ny-Ålesund. How it got there, and what it means for you.
Photo: Schwarz Weiss, CC BY-SA 3.0
Svalbard and the High North: why the big powers care
Why a small Arctic archipelago matters to Russia, NATO and China: submarine routes, satellites that see every polar orbit, undersea cables and research rules.
Photo: Bernt Rostad, CC BY 2.0
The marathons with polar bear guards
Svalbard has two marathons: one on skis in April and one on foot in June. Both claim to be the world's northernmost, and both come with armed polar bear guards.
The Svalbard Treaty: Norway's, but open to all
Svalbard was once no man's land. A 1920 treaty made it Norwegian, but let citizens of every signing country live, work, fish and mine there on equal terms.
The town with no bank and no ATM
Longyearbyen has no bank branch and no cash machine. In one of the world's most digital countries, nobody seems to miss them. Bring a card, not cash.
Photo: Count Iblis, Public domain
Vei 100, Vei 232: the town where roads have numbers
Longyearbyen's roads have numbers, not names, a habit from the coal mines. Only one road has a name, and the neighbourhoods have nicknames like Cowboy town.
Photo: R. Henrik Nilsson, CC BY 4.0
