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Where is Longyearbyen? Svalbard Map & Route Planning
What's the weather like in Longyearbyen Svalbard?
Arctic – Svalbard Archipelago
Main island of Svalbard
Settlement Longyearbyen
Longyearbyen is located at 78° north latitude on the west coast of the main island Spitsbergen on the Isfjord. With around 2100 inhabitants, Longyearbyen is actually too small for a city by definition, but it is still the largest settlement on Svalbard. It is therefore dubbed the "capital of Spitsbergen" and also referred to as the "northernmost city in the world".
The active mining town was founded in 1906 by American mining entrepreneur John Munroe Longyear and is today the administrative center of the archipelago. For tourists, Longyearbyen Airport is the gateway to the Arctic. Colorful residential areas, an informative museum and the northernmost church in the world invite you to take a tour of the city.
Svalbard - Colorful houses characterize the cityscape of Longyearbyen
Longyearbyen is on the seasonal polar bear migratory route to the pack ice, so all residents outside of the city are armed for safety. The "Caution polar bear sign" on the outskirts is a popular photo motif for tourists. The entire road network of Longyearbyen is only about 40 kilometers long and there are no connections to other towns. Neighboring Barentsburg can only be reached by snowmobile in winter and by boat in summer. Good flight connections between Longyearbyen and the Norwegian mainland exist with Oslo or Tromsø.
In winter Longyearbyen, like all of Svalbard, has a polar night. But with the first light of spring, snowmobile tours, dog sledding and Northern Lights attract tourists to Longyerabyen. In the summer, when the sun never sets, Svalbard polar bear cruises depart from Longyearbyen harbour. Our Spitsbergen trip also began and ended in the northernmost city in the world. The AGE™ experience report "Spitsbergen Cruise: Midnight Sun & Calving Glaciers" takes you on our cruise around Spitsbergen.
Our Svalbard travel guide will take you on a tour of the various attractions, sights and wildlife viewing.
Tourists can also discover Spitsbergen with an expedition ship, for example with the Sea Spirit.
Do you dream of meeting the King of Spitsbergen? Experience polar bears in Svalbard
Explore the arctic islands of Norway with the AGE™ Svalbard Travel Guide.
Where is Longyearbyen? Svalbard Map & Route Planning What's the weather like in Longyearbyen Svalbard?Svalbard travel guide • Svalbard cruise • Spitsbergen Island • Longyearbyen • Erlebnisbericht
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Source reference for text research
Information on site, at scientific lectures and briefings by the expedition team from Poseidon Expeditions or on the Cruise ship Sea Spirit as well as personal experiences when visiting Longyearbyen on 28.07.2023/XNUMX/XNUMX.
Sitwell, Nigel (2018): Svalbard Explorer. Visitor's Map of Svalbard Archipelago (Norway), Ocean Explorer Maps