Spitsbergen Cruise Photos

From: MS Nordstjernen cruise review

Ny-Ålesund

Ny-Ålesund is the world's northernmost community, as opposed to the world's northernmost town (an honor that goes to Longyearbyen, the departure port for our cruise). The settlement is at a latitude of almost 79º North.

Coal was discovered in Ny-Ålesund by an English whaler in 1610. Commercial coal mining took place from 1910 to1929 and again from 1945 until November 5, 1962, when an explosion in the government-owned Esther Mine killed 21 miners. In the ensuing public uproar, Norway's prime minister resigned and the mines were closed. The buildings in the photo above are abandoned structures from the old coal mines, where 70 miners died over the years. (For more on the community's history, see the Svalbard Museum's Ny-Ålesund page.)

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