SPITSBERGEN:
HABITATS & CREATURES
svalbard is a norwegian set of islands in the arctic ocean. they were possibly discovered by the vikings in the 12th century, and certainly 1596 by the dutch sailor barentsz. the main island is spitsbergen, where the only villages are situated, longyearbyen, founded in 1908 as coal mining settlement and now svalbard's capital, and barentsburg, a russian mining town founded in 1920.
since 1600, a lot of hunting took
place in spitsbergen, including whales, polar bears and
foxes. quite a few abandoned historic dwellings can be
found inland. meanwhile hunting has almost completely
stopped. coal mining, dominating for about 100 years, is
maintained on a small scale. barentsburg, florishing in
sovjet union times (it even has a lenin statue) is almost
a ghost town now. besides rendeers, there are thousands of
polar bears on spitsbergen, the 'iconic' symbol of
svalbard. they are protected yet dangerous, thus visitor
guides are obliged to carry a rifle outside the
town.



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