Pyramiden, Former Soviet mining settlement in Svalbard, Norway
Pyramiden is a former mining settlement in Svalbard, Norway, positioned at the base of a sharp peak. Wooden houses, apartment blocks, and public buildings stand empty along wide streets, while the surrounding tundra extends down to the fjord.
Swedish companies began coal extraction here from 1910 before the Soviet Union took control of the settlement in 1927. The last miners and their families left in 1998 after extraction became unprofitable.
The name comes from the triangular mountain towering over the buildings, shaped like an Egyptian pyramid. People now arrive only during the summer season to stay in the hotel housed inside a former administrative building.
Boat trips from Longyearbyen harbor take several hours and run only in summer when ice melts. During winter, guided snowmobile tours provide access, though warm clothing is needed and the polar night should be considered.
Inventory and personal belongings were left behind after evacuation, as if residents departed mid-routine. Visitors find textbooks in classrooms and sports equipment in the gymnasium still hanging in place.
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