Pyramiden Museum, Arctic mining museum in Pyramiden, Norway
The Pyramiden Museum is a museum building in an abandoned Soviet mining settlement in the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard. It houses taxidermal polar bears and other animal specimens, geological samples, and objects from the period when the settlement was inhabited from 1927 to 1998.
The settlement was founded in 1927 as a Soviet coal mining community and grew to house over one thousand residents. The town was abandoned in 1998 when mining operations ended, and the museum was established later to preserve this chapter of Arctic history.
The exhibits show objects from the daily lives of Soviet miners: tools, clothing, and photographs revealing how over one thousand people lived in this isolated Arctic settlement. You can see how they spent their free time and what connections they maintained with home.
The museum is only accessible through guided tours from the southern town of Longyearbyen, as the settlement is no longer inhabited. Summer access uses boat transportation, while winter access requires snowmobiles, depending on weather and ice conditions.
The most striking feature is a taxidermal polar bear displayed in a special exhibit, representing the wildlife of the region. This display connects the natural history of the area with the human activities that once took place there.
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