Grumant
 
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Location of Grumant |
Grumant ( Russian Грумант ), also Grumantbyen , is an abandoned mining settlement on Svalbard . It is located on the south coast of the Isfjord about twelve kilometers west of Longyearbyen at the foot of the Fuglefjella at the mouth of the narrow Grumantdalen .
history
After a Russian expedition led by Vladimir Russanov found coal deposits here in 1912, the company Grumant AG Agafeloff & Co. was founded in 1913 , which established the mining settlement of Grumant in 1919. It was followed in 1920 by the Anglo-Russian Grumant Co., Ltd. and in 1923 Russki Grumant Ltd. As a signatory to the Svalbard Treaty , Russia and, from 1922, the Soviet Union had the right to continue mining raw materials in the archipelago , which now belongs to Norway . Since it was not possible to directly load the coal onto freighters off Grumant due to the insufficient water depth, coal production was temporarily suspended in 1926. During this time, a narrow gauge was Loren rail tunnel through the cliffs built for new, more westerly Russian port of loading Colesbukta built. In 1932 the Soviet coal mining company Arktikugol took over the mine operation and continued it until 1962 when it was closed due to a lack of profitability. Grumant was given up in 1965.
At its peak in 1951/52, the population of the place was given as 1106 inhabitants (including Colesbukta), making it the most populous settlement on Svalbard at that time.
Most of the houses were demolished to such an extent that their floor plans can hardly be guessed on site today. The remaining buildings have fallen into disrepair. The wooden roofs of the above-ground areas of the Lorenbahn are still there, but the tunnel can no longer be passed. There was a cemetery above the village.
The name Grumant was based on the old Russian word for Greenland , as the pomors who came to Svalbard from the north coast of Russia and regularly spent long periods of time on hunting trips in the Arctic initially believed they were in Greenland.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Garry Saint: Svalbard Paper Money, Grumant Company Coal Bay Issues. In: numismondo.com. Retrieved April 1, 2012 .
Coordinates: 78 ° 11 ' N , 15 ° 7' E