The City Abandoned at World's End

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Geo: 78.65, 16.4167

Going to Northern Norway is remote. Going to Longyearbyen is exotic. Going to Pyramiden can only be eclipsed by going to the moon. It is a ghost town, one of the most mysterious and isolated places on the planet. Established in the early 20th century as a Russian mining town, it was once a thriving, self sustaining city of around 2,000. It was held as an ideal socialist community. However, with the fall of the Soviet Union, the city fell on hard times. Eventually, in 1998, the entire city was hastily abandoned. Everything was dropped, left in place, and all inhabitants disappeared from the city. There have been many suggestions of why; the mine ran dry, a large portion of workers were killed in a plane crash, people were unwell, the city became economically unsustainable, or something else. The fact is, Russia wanted the city closed, and there is no complete or concrete explanation as to why, and why it was abandoned in such haste. Offices are left full, furniture in place, rooms decorated, photos, toys, clothes and equipment dropped. Nothing was locked or secured.
The only means of reaching the settlement today is by boat. There is no airport or connecting roads. The journey is some four hours each way from Longyearbyen. Around 70 passengers pile in, and we are on our way. The journey is interesting in itself, with plenty of opportunity to spot wildlife, Arctic gulls and Puffin penguins can be spotted relatively frequently. We enjoy a local style lunch of barbecued mink whale and salmon and enjoy many tales of interest from our tour guide. As we draw nearer to our destination, we come to a large blue glacier. The ship approaches and gets within 50 metres for a close look. We turn and sail around chunks of ice in the sea towards an old run down port.
Pyramiden sits before us. From the boat, it looks a large enough city. Its still, ruined, desolate, stagnant. As we pull up to the old abandoned dock, there are a handful of people waiting to greet us. Around 15 people are living here now, Russians, having taken residence in the restored hotel building. Its colder here than in Longyearbyen. As we disembark the boat, many eerie ruined buildings surround us, a rusty crane, delapitated warehouses sporting broken windows and a the remains of a burned double story home. Russian words and signs offer no explanation or guidance as to their initial intent. Our local guide, rifle slung over the shoulder of his long black coat welcomes us and escorts us to a small bus for a short drive to the city. We climb out before the Pyramiden monument. Before the monument sits a mining car full apparently of the last mined coal in the settlement. We are welcomed to take a small piece and begin our walking tour. The city feels like it dosnt belong, Its Russia, in Arctic Norway. The buildings remind me of St Petersberg; blocks. There are several large residential buildings, the rooms evenly spaced, matching, windows identical, each only decorated with a metal box that served as a fridge. We are told that all food here was free, and consumed in a single blue building, a mess hall open 24 hours a day.
The tour is somewhat rushed, front doors have new locks, which shine compared to peeling paint, broken signs and the rotting wood of doors they adorn. We pass a hospital, which we are told has been sealed due to unsafe radiation from broken medical equipment.
Finally we come to the main community building at the top of the city square. To my delight, the guide tells us we can look inside.. for 10 minutes! Its double story! No further questions I am first through the door determined to see every room. I just about manage, aside from some which have been sealed. How fascinating. The building is unpowered, so some places, with few or no windows have minimal light. First I'm into the biggest room. Its pitch dark, an old theatre or cinema, the only illumination coming from the open door and flash light of my camera. A hundred dusty chairs face a near empty stage. I find a side entrance, and head up rickety stairs. The wallpaper on the wall is peeling and floors uneven in places. I go from room to room, an old art or sewing room, Russian children's books, old photos, musical instruments, a full filing cabinet. The film room above the cinema is a mess, film and equipment strewn everywhere. I find the indoor sports court, basketball nets hanging dormant from unused rims, slightly deflated footballs sitting forlorn besides goals at each end. In another room I play a few random keys on the worlds most northern grand piano.
We leave the building and are directed down the main street towards the hotel building. The grass on this square is greener than anywhere in Svalbard. Our guide tells us it was shipped here from the Ukraine. To the left, in the Pyramid shaped mountain from whence the town got its name, I can see a giant mine rail and shaft, along with many ruined buildings. I see the Freemasons symbol on one. Small homes here appear relatively intact, and I rush from building to building to further explore, having to get close and shield off reflection from dirty, dusty windows. The homes are still furnished, chairs and matresses sitting in some, stacked or strewn about in others. In one I find an eerie child's doll, in a bright pink dress. I find a rusty old playground, idle swings long forgotten, swaying in a mild breeze to the sounds of screaming gulls, nesting in the windowsills of an apartment block.
We buy a simple souvenir, vodka shot and (are forced to) waste half an hour in the hotel saloon. I have five minutes outside to soak in the atmosphere before we are taken back to the boat. Overall, our time here felt rushed, on purpose.
As we drifted away from Pyramiden, I could only wonder what secrets and relics lie untouched there somewhere; in homes, warehouses, the mines, the mountain.
Our boat ride back is largely uneventful, we see more birds, and occasional wilderness cottages. We here a tale of murder in the famous 'Swedish House' where 17 people were killed by a strange illness.
We ate out at the pub that evening, for more affordable food, a delicious pizza and the daily special, lamb shanks. Tomorrow, we will be hunting for fossils.

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Photos

Bird Cliffs
Nesting Spot

Man on the bird cliffs
In the middle of nowhere? What the?