Echoes of the Past: The Arctic’s Human History
3 November 2025 | Arctic Circle
Svalbard’s human history is one of endurance and enterprise, where ruthless ambition drew explorers, whalers, miners, hunters, and trappers to seek their fortune in the most extreme environment on the planet.
Discovered in 1596 by Dutch explorer Willem Barentsz, Svalbard—a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean—was then a barren, uninhabited, frozen landscape populated by polar bears and other Arctic wildlife. Willem’s discovery soon drew intense interest from Europe, particularly in the vast numbers of whales, seals, and walrus found in the icy waters. Demand for oil and other products made from whales and seals led to the establishment of systematic whaling in Svalbard around 1612.
Historic Whaling Sites
Whalers of the 17th century travelled to the remote region from all over the globe, including England, the Netherlands, France, and Denmark, building makeshift camps and processing stations along the shores of Svalbard’s fjords. A whaling boom saw adventurous, ambitious men risk their lives to make their fortune.
Once whales were harpooned and flensed, their blubber was rendered into oil by boiling strips in large iron ‘try pots’, then cooled to filter impurities. This golden oil was then stored in barrels and casks for transportation at the close of the season. The work was dangerous, dirty, and unrelenting – but could prove hugely profitable. In Europe, whale oil was used in soap, oil lamps, machinery, leather, textiles, and ‘whalebone’ parasols and corsets.
A visit to the ruins of 17th-century Dutch whaling stations Gravneset and Smeerenburg in the northwest of the Svalbard archipelago provides a porthole into Svalbard’s whaling past. These protected historic sites feature the remnants of buildings and blubber ovens, as well as whale and walrus bones, and the graves of whalers who perished at the site. Eerie reminders of Europe’s early Arctic industries and their lasting stain on the region’s delicate ecosystem.
Sorgfjorden, or “Sorrow Fjord,” demonstrates how fiercely the whaling trade was contested. At the height of Svalbard’s whaling boom in 1683, French and Dutch fleets clashed here in a violent, deadly confrontation. These bitter whaling rivals blasted cannon fire at each other’s ships, cracking the hulls and sending men overboard into the freezing waters. Marked by a haunting stillness, Sorgfjorden illustrates the human cost of ambition in the pursuit of Arctic wealth and opportunity.
Arctic Exploration and Settlements
With the decline of whaling in the 18th Century, miners arrived on Svalbard’s shores in search of coal. One of the most famous and enduring coal mining settlements is Longyearbyen, first established by American John Munro Longyear, who visited the area on a cruise ship and saw its potential as a coal mining town.
He established the first Arctic Coal Company mine and buildings in 1906, naming the settlement Longyear City. Early coal miners shivered through 24 hours of darkness during the long winter months, sleeping in wooden barracks to fuel Europe’s growing coal demands. Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani (SNSK) took over the mining operations in 1916, naming the town Longyearbyen as a nod to its founder. The company still runs the world's northernmost coal mine.
After surviving World War II bombing that virtually destroyed the town, Longyearbyen is now the capital and administrative centre of Svalbard, recognised for its exceptional adventure tourism and world-class research. It’s home to the world-famous Svalbard seed vault, a collection of seeds from around the globe stored in a secure vault under permafrost and considered a backup to the world’s food supply.
By contrast, Svalbard’s many ghost towns and abandoned settlements stand as a stark relic of human ambition against the Arctic’s unforgiving landscape. Calypsobyen, a mining outpost in the southwest of Spitsbergen, was established by the Northern Exploration Company (NEC) in 1910. However, despite high hopes for a mineral fortune, the coal and gold digs proved unproductive, and operations ceased. Visitors can wander the empty, silent streets, past rusting equipment and crumbling buildings, paying homage to the adventurers who came before them
Hunting and Trapping
From the late 18th to the early 20th century, Russian and Norwegian hunter-trappers set up camp in Svalbard’s frozen wilderness. Known as pomors from Russia’s White Sea coast and fangstfolk from northern Norway, these hardy men lived overwinter in isolated huts and cabins, often for years at a time, surviving arctic snowstorms, perilous ice, and months of darkness. This group primarily hunted walrus, seal, Arctic fox, and reindeer for pelts and meat. More than 70 trapping stations from this era are known, and traces of their handicrafts have been found at stations.
Today, relics of human exploration in the Arctic – from trappers’ huts, to rusting whalers’ tools, and weathered gravestones - are an important piece of Svalbard’s cultural heritage. They serve as a powerful reminder of the ingenuity, grit, and courage it took to survive and thrive in the northernmost corner of the world.
Aqua Expeditions' Arctic Circle voyages set sail in 2026. We look forward to welcoming you on board. Learn More.
Images are for illustrative purposes only and do not reflect the proximity of wildlife encounters during our excursions.
