21 Facts About Longyearbyen

Longyearbyen is the world's northernmost settlement and largest inhabited area of Svalbard, Norway.

Longyearbyen'storically, Longyearbyen was a company town, but most mining operations moved to Sveagruva during the 1990s, and production ceased in 2017 due to immense financial losses suffered by SNSK since 2014 due to market conditions.

Longyearbyen had American administration, but mostly Norwegian labourers, and named the town Longyear City.

Only four buildings in Longyearbyen survived: the hospital, the power station, an office building, and a residential building.

Longyearbyen remained unsettled until the end of the war, with the first ship from the mainland leaving on 27 June 1945.

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In 1949, Longyearbyen received a telephone connection with the mainland via a radio connection between Svalbard Radio and Harstad.

Longyearbyen is in the lower portion of the Longyear Valley, along the Longyear River.

Longyearbyen is on the Nordenskiold Land peninsula of Spitsbergen, the largest island of the Svalbard archipelago.

Longyearbyen generally has lower humidity than other settlements within the Arctic Circle.

Svalbard and Longyearbyen are among the places in the world that have warmed fastest in the latest decades.

Longyearbyen has an over-average share of its population between 25 and 44 years old, but nearly no residents over 66.

The number of children in relation to the population is at the national average, but Longyearbyen has significantly fewer teenagers than the national average.

Longyearbyen's population is more highly educated than the national average: 54 percent compared to 43 percent have upper secondary education and 30 percent compared to 26 percent have tertiary education.

Longyearbyen is subordinate to Nord-Troms District Court and Halogaland Court of Appeal, both in Tromsø.

Therefore, Longyearbyen has a lower income tax than mainland Norway, and there is no value added tax.

The treaty has resulted in Longyearbyen being a demilitarized zone and it is not part of the European Economic Area nor of the Schengen Area like the rest of Norway.

In contrast, Longyearbyen has almost only Norwegian research, while Ny-Alesund is roughly evenly split between Norwegian and foreign.

Longyearbyen is the centre of tourism on the archipelago, although most tourism is generated based on natural experiences rather than visiting the town itself.

However, Longyearbyen does provide supplies, accommodation and several museums.

Czech Arctic Research Station is based in Longyearbyen and provides facilities for researchers and students not only from the Czech Republic but from all over the world.

Longyearbyen has a road network stretching 50 kilometers, but the network does not extend to any other communities.