Bamsebu, Heritage site at Kapp Toscana, Svalbard, Norway
Bamsebu is a wooden cabin on the south coast of Van Keulenfjorden in Spitsbergen, surrounded by fjords and Arctic landscapes. The structure sits in a stark, icy setting where few buildings from the early settlement period remain.
A Norwegian named Ingvald Svendsen founded the cabin around 1930 as Svalbard's only beluga whaling station. Operations continued through the interwar years before the station was eventually abandoned.
The site reflects Norwegian hunting traditions through its remaining structures that show how people worked in this remote Arctic setting. Today visitors can see how activities were organized and get a sense of the daily life that once took place here.
The cabin is accessible only by boat and located in a protected area with specific travel restrictions. Visitors should plan with local guides and prepare for extreme weather, as the location is very remote.
The beach near the cabin holds hundreds of beluga skeletons that mark the site's whaling past. These remains form a somber record of the industrial hunting that once took place here.
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