Pyramiden

Pyramiden, Spitsbergen - darkometer rating : 8 - A ghost town on Spitsbergen, Svalbard , that used to be the remote settlement surrounding the Russian coal mine of the same name. Abandoned in 1998, the place is now a time capsule of " USSR -ness", including the world's northernmost Lenin bust and various other relics of the Soviet era. The location and glacial backdrop are unique too. Independent travel to this remote place is theoretically possible, but adventurous and restricted. However, in the summer season you can go quite comfortably on regular, organized boat excursions from Longyearbyen, which include a guided tour on the ground that takes visitors around this most magical Arctic ghost town for a good two hours or so. An outstanding experience! > More background info > What there is to see > Location > Access and costs > Time required > Combinations with other dark destinations > Combinations with non-dark destinations > Photos More background info: Don't be fooled by the name: Pyramiden (or "Piramida", if transliterated from the Russian) has nothing at all to do with ancient Egyptian architectural monuments, but takes its name simply from the shape of the mountain it is located next to. What's inside this mountain also provided the reason for a settlement to be built here in the first place: coal mining. Pyramiden was one of those Soviet coal mining communities that Norway (under whose sovereignty Svalbard is) allowed the Russians to maintain here, as agreed under the Spitsbergen Treaty of 1920. A Swedish company was there first but was soon bought out by the Soviet Union . Unlike the other big Russian mining town Barentsburg (see under Svalbard ) Pyramiden escaped destruction by the Germans in WWII , and in the post-war years was further developed into the most important place of its kind in the whole archipelago.