Barentsburg

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Barentsburg
Barentsburg Coat of Arms
Barentsburg (Svalbard and Jan Mayen)
Barentsburg
Barentsburg
Basic data
Country Norway
Outdoor area Svalbard
Coordinates : 78 ° 4 '  N , 14 ° 13'  E Coordinates: 78 ° 4 '  N , 14 ° 13'  E
Residents : 492 (January 1, 2016)
View of Barentsburg

Barentsburg ( Russian Баренцбург ) is a Russian polar station and Bergarbeitersiedlung on Isfjord on Spitsbergen .

history

Barentsburg was founded in 1932 and is the second largest town on the island after Longyearbyen . It is mainly inhabited by Russian and Ukrainian miners who work for the Russian company Trust Arktikugol (Арктикуголь) in the coal mining industry. The distance to Longyearbyen is about 55 kilometers. The two settlements are not connected by paved roads. In summer ships or helicopters connect the towns, in winter snowmobiles or dog sleds.

In 2006 a smoldering fire broke out in the mine operated by Trust Arktikugol, which, although it could be extinguished, led to speculation about the safety of the facilities. After another three serious mine accidents with two dead and one seriously injured in 2013, the Sysselmann fined the Russian mining company Trust Arktikugol with a fine of 1.3 million Norwegian kroner (approx. 154,000 euros).

The importance of tourism and settlement as a research location is increasing as coal mining is becoming increasingly unprofitable. In spring and autumn you can tour the place with snowmobiles. Only visitors to the mining company can stay overnight. Russia maintains a consulate in Barentsburg.

Overall, Barentsburg's importance for the Russians is diminishing. In the 1990s the place had between 1,100 and 1,450 inhabitants, in 2002 it was 900 inhabitants, the number of which fell to just 370 by 2010. At the beginning of 2013, however, 471 people were registered again, so that Barentsburg had the strongest population growth in Svalbard with 101 people in two years.

climate

Barentsburg lies in the Grønfjorden, a small side fjord of the Isfjord. The annual mean temperature here is −6.1 ° C, the average annual precipitation 525 mm.


Average monthly temperatures and rainfall for Barentsburg
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Temperature ( ° C ) −14.1 −14.7 −14.5 −11.4 −4.1 1.6 5.5 4.5 0.5 −4.9 −9.5 −12.3 O −6.1
Precipitation ( mm ) 49 46 50 39 26th 23 28 39 54 62 59 50 Σ 525
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
N
i
e
d
e
r
s
c
h
l
a
g 		49
46
50
39
26th
23
28
39
54
62
59
50
  Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Source: Norwegian Meteorological Institute eKlima , values ​​for normal period 1961–1990

gallery

  • Stairs from the port to the place

  • Main street through Barentsburg

  • Culture house and swimming pool

  • Souvenir shop next to the Kulturhaus

  • church

  • Lenin monument

  • Renovation work

  • Barentsburg from the air

Web links

Commons : Barentsburg  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Even Høydahl, Øivind Rustad: Population of Svalbard, January 1, 2016. Statistics Norway's Information Center, April 7, 2016, accessed April 21, 2016 .
  2. ↑ Rolf Stange: Three mining accidents in one year in Barentsburg: fine. In: Spitzbergen.de. December 9, 2013, accessed December 10, 2013 .
  3. ↑ Vacationers instead of miners on tagesschau.de from March 29, 2017, accessed on March 29, 2017
  4. ↑ Ole Magnus Rapp: Barentsburg: Et lite stykke Sovjet på norsk permafrost in Aftenposten from September 8, 2015, accessed on March 27, 2017
  5. ^ Rolf Stange: Barentsburg: strongest population growth in Spitzbergen. In: Spitzbergen.de. February 23, 2013, accessed December 9, 2013 .