20 Facts About Svalbard

Svalbard, known as Spitsbergen, or Spitzbergen, is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean.

Svalbard is a breeding ground for many seabirds, and is home to polar bears, reindeer, the Arctic fox, and certain marine mammals.

Name Svalbard is composed of the well-attested Old Norse words svalr and barð, adapted to Norwegian phonology.

Landforms of Svalbard were created through repeated ice ages, when glaciers cut the former plateau into fjords, valleys, and mountains.

Svalbard is part of the High Arctic Large Igneous Province, and experienced Norway's strongest earthquake on 6 March 2009 at magnitude 6.

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Discussions to establish the sovereignty of the archipelago commenced in the 1910s, but were interrupted by World War I On 9 February 1920, following the Paris Peace Conference, the Svalbard Treaty was signed, granting full sovereignty to Norway.

The treaty took effect on 14 August 1925, at the same time as the Svalbard Act regulated the archipelago and the first governor, Johannes Gerckens Bassøe, took office.

Svalbard, known to both British and Germans as Spitsbergen, was little affected by the German invasion of Norway in April 1940.

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

Svalbard is a demilitarized zone, as the treaty prohibits the establishment of military installations.

Svalbard is not governed by Norway's policies on migration and does not issue visas or residence permits itself.

Svalbard Act established the institution of the Governor of Svalbard, who holds the responsibility as both county governor and chief of police, as well as holding other authority granted from the executive branch.

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

Non-EU and non-Nordic Svalbard residents do not need Schengen visas for Svalbard itself, but those travelling via mainland Norway require visas to pass through Norway.

Svalbard has historically been a base for both whaling and fishing.

Svalbard Global Seed Vault is a seedbank to store seeds from as many of the world's crop varieties and their botanical wild relatives as possible.

Low-cost carrier Norwegian Air Shuttle has a service between Oslo and Svalbard, operating three or four times a week; there are irregular charter services to Russia.

Between 1970 and 2020, the average temperature on Svalbard rose by 4 degrees Celsius, and in the winter months by 7 degrees.

Svalbard has permafrost and tundra, including low, middle, and high Arctic vegetation.

Svalbard is on Norway's tentative list for nomination as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.