Pyramiden, 2024

Pyramiden is a town located in Svalbard, founded by Sweden in 1910, then later sold to the Soviet Union in 1927. The town’s name is translated as ‘Pyramid’, a reference to the pyramid shaped mountain looming over it. It’s often said that the town was abandoned overnight. However, the vacation of the residents from the town happened over a period of months. A visitor arriving with no prior knowledge of the town would reasonably reach the former conclusion. Throughout the town there withering plants on windowsills and tables, dishes stacked on shelves, furniture still in place, boots left outside rooms, and all kinds of other signs of human life. When you step onto the pontoon of Pyramiden’s harbour, you are taking a step back in time. As you make your way into the town’s centre, you are immediately confronted by the impressive Soviet architecture (a mixture of bloc-style housing, Brutalism and Constructivist) and the large bust of Lenin surrounded by grass important from Siberia. Beginning in the 17th century, the Artic islands were used as a base for whaling and walrus hunting. Shortly before making our final approach to the town’s harbour, we encountered a pod of white whales, which was a beautiful site and a stark reminder of the history of the region. Moving forward to the 20th century, and interest had turned to coal mining. Until this point, this region of Svalbard did not belong to any nation and was freely used by the Dutch, Norwegians and British amongst others. In 1920 the Svalbard treaty was created which granted Norway sovereignty over Svalbard. Russia was left out of the treaty. However, the Svalbard Treaty dictated that only certain Norwegian laws applied on the islands, and therefore all countries signed to the treaty had equal rights to pursue commercial interests on the islands. During this time Norway established Longyearbyen, which is Svalbard’s most populous town with over 2,000 residents. In 1936 the Soviet Union acquired the rights to mine the coalfields at Pyramiden and Barentsburg (about 60 miles South). The State-owned mining company Trust Arktikugol (founded in 1931) took over mining operations at Pyramiden and Barentsburg. Pyramiden was originally a very quiet town, with very few residents but after WWII the Soviet Union allocated more money to the town, which brought the construction of dozens of new buildings including a hospital, kindergarten, hotel, accommodation halls, two swimming pools, cafeteria, administration offices and a recreation and leisure centre called the “Culture Palace”. In the 1980’s at the town’s height, more than 1,000 were living and working in Pyramiden. Residents were assigned to separate residential halls, splitting them up into single men/women and families. There was also a hotel on the site for housing short term workers. Over the years, Pyramiden established a formal cemetery for residents who died in the town, as well as cats. Aesthetics were an important aspect of Pyramiden’s outward image of the Soviet Union’s values and principles. Unfortunately, the Arctic is an unforgiving and inhospitable region. The soil is nutrient deficient and corrosion is constant challenge. To circumvent these problems, the Soviet Union important shiploads of soil from what is now Ukraine. This plan was successful and the residents created lush green grass patches, as well as using soil in greenhouses to grow vegetables. The town also raised pigs, chickens and cattle. Later in the 80s, troubling was brewing in the Soviet Union and eventually in 1991 the state collapsed. It transpired that Arktikugol’s mining operations were not profitable and were in fact being subsidised by government funding which led to an economic downturn in the town as there were lower salaries and poorer living standards. In 1996, tragedy struck as the Vnukovo Airlines flight 2801 from Moscow (chartered by Arktikugol) crashed near Longyearbyen. All 141 passengers were killed, including three children and many families of mine workers. After the accident, many families of victims pursued legal action against the company over disputes around compensation. The culmination of these economic realities and tragic events led to the decision to close Pyramiden in 1998. On March 31, 1998, the last coal deposits were extracted from the mine and the remaining workers (around 300) began to leave the town. Some workers chose to stay in Svalbard and continue working for the company in Barentsburg, whilst others left and returned to Russia. In the years since its abandonment the town has been subject to vandalism, theft and neglect. Artikugol now maintains and runs the town as a popular tourist destination, with tourists coming from all over the world to see the town. It’s been predicted that Pyramiden’s buildings will still be standing in 500 years, but for now it stands as a decaying memorial of a time since past.