pyramiden

Ok - you venture to the most northern town "in the world" Longyearbyen - which is fantastic - and then someone tells you about one that is a three and half hour ride on a fishing boat further north - but abandoned - Pyramiden. You assume you'll see a few derelict shacks - but no - here is Sacha ( the guide, mayor and tourist & bear protector) in full Russian suede and fur Russian belted coat and fur hat with rifle slung over his back to guide you through Pyramiden a town that looks like it was abandoned yesterday.An amazing place & story well told by Sacha. Without giving it all away ... invest a day & take the 10 hour boat tour from Longyearbyen.You'll go as far north as you'll likely ever be, see something you'll never see again, see the most northern everything including Lenin statue, school, hotel, apartment buildings, theatre ( yes theatre), etc.- and if you're lucky the crew will let you drink 12 year scotch chilled with 1200 year old glacier ice!

This is a very interesting place. A left city in nowhereland. It is like people were zipped when time stood stillf

Part of a tour out of Longyearbyen to this isolated shut down Russian coal mine. Sasha, our Russian guide at Pyramiden was great. The place is like a ghost town, except for 12 people still living there, polar foxes and polar bears frequently visiting the area. I loved the remoteness and still asking myself why those people still choose to live there..Recommend a trip there, really interesting..

We went here with our scooter/snowmobile trip and stayed overnight at the "hotel", where the tour through the abandoned town started as well. Unfortunately, the rooms of the hotel haven't had any curtains and it was mid-summer as we went there so we had daylight almost all through the night.However, the guide is very funny and has a good sense of humor. He leads through the town going into the old library and swimming as well as town hall. You'll get a lot of interesting information about how people lived like and what happened as they have left the town all of a sudden.Very unique and interesting part of Spitsbergen history and really recommended to go to!If you stay overnight, bring a sleeping mask :D

You should be there :) Place with history, and little bit sad. Never understand how Russians can abandon place like this.

Pyramiden was a coal mining town operated by Russia in The Svalbard Archipelago from 1930 to 1998. There were over 2,000 people there at times and most of the buildings are still standing. We arrived on The Polar Girl Charter Boat and a Russian guide carrying a rifle in case of a polar bear encounter showed us around. There are still 12 or 13 people living there now.The town is at 78 degrees North latitude so it is pretty cold most of the year.

Pyramiden once upon a time was a Russian mining site and used as a "perfect example" by Soviet. After the Soviet collapsed in the begining of 90', Pyramiden slowly got abandoned and finally in 1998 all workers were picked and left and only 2 people were assigned to stay to watch over the property for the mining company (Yes, this is still belonging to the Russian mining company).So simpley to say, Pyramiden is an abandoned ghost town. It's full of rotten facilities and nothing maintained (except the bar and hotel where the workers and a few guests would stay).On the other hand, you can say Pyramiden itself is a frozen piece of history. It's a legend which you can still touch. You must know this before you go (or before you decide to go or not), so that you don't have a wrong expectation.From the perspective of looking for history scene, I would strongly recommend Pyramiden, especially if you have never experienced the "Soviet time".In Pyramiden with the explanation from the guide, you could almost reproduce the scene in front of your eye... how the workers lived, what entertainment they had, how the dancers practiced behind the stage etc...If you look around carefully, you can even find some log books or albums where they stated who the best worker was for every year/season etc.The only pity for me is the time staying there is too short.It's only enough for us to visit some buildings but not all buildings (for example the KGB office etc), nor the gallery up to the mining entrance.The price for this tour is a bit high, but as "once in your life time" thing I think it worthy.And on the way to Pyramiden, the boat took us to see big glacier (falling to pieces...) and on the way back we saw blue whales too. Definitely worth the price! :-)

The Russian company Arktikugol closed the coal mine and left Pyramiden in 1998. A few Russians returned in 2007 because if any country abandons its land on Svalbard for 10 years, it reverts to the Norwegian government. A friend who visited around that time said that it was a true ghost town. Today it is a mix. Some of the buildings (cantina, sports complex, cinema, swimming pool) are fading versions of their former glory and fascinating to wander through. But much of the abandoned housing is freshly painted, and the Tulip Hotel is, incongruously, elegant and open for meals and hotel stays. Lenin’s bust still looks out to sea, and scrap metal has been piled up near the harbor to recycle.In summer, Pyramiden can be reached by RIB (rigid inflatable boat) or larger M/S (motor ship), which are similar in price and duration; various companies offer each. The RIB has a capacity of about 10, moves faster and therefore covers more ground, is closer to the water and entirely outdoors/seated, requires warm clothes (mostly provided by the tour company), and to my mind is friendlier, more fun, and more conducive to seeing the sights. The RIB to Pyramiden also goes by bird cliffs and the Nordenskiold glacier.

Left at 8.30am and got back at 7.30 pm. Lunch was included on board and was BBQ meet and salmon with pasta salad. Journey to the glacier was about 2 hours with excellent views along the fiord. We were lucky to see a polar bear swimming in front of the glacier and then going onto land.The Russian guide at Pyramiden was brilliantly funny and spoke excellent English. Tour took just under 2 hours and included a history of Pyramiden and entry into what was the sports and cultural centre. What we didn't know is that you can stay the night in a hotel there which would have been fun.

Pyramiden is worthy to see. It is a real ghost city. You can get there from Longyearbyen by any boat trip. If you want you can stay over night. There are 2 options for accommodation:1. Pyramiden hotel (800NOK/single room; 1000NOK/double room, etc..) - you can get dinner or breakfast there 150-250NOK.2. Container hostel in the harbour - (300NOK/person) very clean, tidy, propre hot! shower and toilet. You can eat at Pyramiden then or cook at hostel. No need of sleeping bags.The only tricky part is that you would need to buy 2 one way tickets instead of 1 return ticket. But... when turists are away.. then you can explore the city by your own.... :)Eva

***If anyone have information on how to book at the hotel, please lwt me know. They also have the crates but I forgot to ask our guides how to do this. Thanks in advance! Given only two days in Svalbard, I went ahead and booked a 10 hour boat day trip to Pyramiden. Best decision ever. We past cliffsides with bird colonies. Saw Artic wildlife and puffins. Made way to the glacier and had bbq whale, salad, salmon with steam white rice. ***I have severe motion sickness but the speed and calmness of the sea did not affect me. They sell motion sickness pills on the boat as coffee, tea, snacks, and alcohol. Upon arrival into the harbour, we were greeted by our towne guide, Sasha. He is super nice and so is our other guide who met us up by the Hotel Tulip. I wish I knew the young gentleman's name!I love that the towne is well kept to how the settlers left it then. I would move here if I could!!! I would really like to stay and see if I can climb the mountain and see the coal mine.There is a two shot minimum if you decide to have a drink at the hotel bar. They prefer kronas if you have it. The signals are not so great there. They have a ways walk for mobile signal. You can also buy souvenirs and post cards. Yes they have stamps.

I went there with the boat excursion, so we had only about 1.5 h in the town. As for me that was not really enough, coz we didn't visit many buildings, we neither went to the mine. It was not only me who felt that it was too short. It reminded me a lot of my childhood, but I think for citizens of not post-Soviet countries it must be incredibly weird experience. The communism is conservated there and the locals (only 15 people) seem to regret that time. For me it didn't feel abandoned or scary, it is nice and peaceful. Take cash there, credit cards are not accepted. The weather was nice and sunny, there is no wind, coz it is in the valley. They say they get visited by bears from time to time, but we didn't see any.

If you are looking for something unusual, this is the place. A deserted Russian coal mining town with 17 or so residents to maintain may not sound all that interesting but you would be wrong. Frozen in time and place, you are transported back to an era in Russian history. The buildings were locked behind them as they left in the 1990's. Sasha leads the tour speaking impeccable English as he carries the obligatory gun over his shoulder and takes you around town. Watch for the Arctic fox, abundant bird life, varieties if plants....and, it seems at times, for ghosts! Truly different and beyond interesting. Enjoy!

Stayed there one night. Although only 15 persons live there, it felt more alive than Barentsburg, where about 400 or so people live. Peaceful, beautiful, open, but a bit intimidating.

I visited Pyramiden as a part of the boat trip to Pyramiden and Nordenskold glacier.The success of this trip largely depends on the weather of the day. It was sunny for my trip and I had excellent experience. Although glacier and the town of Pyramiden doesn't seem to be very far from Longyearbyen, as boat makes about 10knots max, it took us ~8 hours of sailing to get between all attractions.We departed Longyearbyen at 8:45am and first started sailing northeast along the shore. Shortly after departure we've seen beluga whales, which was added bonus.After about 2 hours into our cruise we reached bird cliffs and were bird watching for some time. After that we sailed due north to reach the glacier. We arrived at about 1pm and so crew fired up the barbecue and started preparing lunch of cooked salmon and BBQ whale meat which was served on a way to Pyramiden. We managed to get quite close to the glacier and seen how it sheds ice into the fjord as we'll noticed several seals on the ice.Our main destination - an abandoned town of Pyramiden was coal mining settlement that Russians purchased from Sweden at the beginning of 20th century and then abandoned in 1990s when there was no coal left to mine. We were welcomed by our Russian guide (dressed in costume more belonging to the museum, and had a short ride on a bus from the pier into the city. The town leaves eerie feeling - it looks like towns of Pripyat that was evacuated after Chernobyl disaster - But with much less looting. It looked like people just left 20 years ago and are planning to return. To my surprise, the town have working hotel, which can be booked over the internet and judging by the feedback of our guide, can be fully booked in April when many people will drive to Pyramiden on snowmobiles.After being in Pyramiden for about 90 minutes we sailed back and arrived Longyearbyen at about 7pm.All in all this cruise is my best impression about Spitsbergen so don't be put off by the price (NOK 1500) and do it. The thing you need to remember is that they have right to cancel the trip if there will be less than 8 bookings - and believe me they do - without notice, so it is essential you check one day in advance - every hotel receptionist in Longyearbyen can do it for you.