Expedition to Billefjorden II

Approaching Pyramiden aboard Langøysund, it´s obvious which part of the mountain that gave the town its name.


We walked as a group into town, guarded by rifles in front and at the rear.
There are only four people living in Pyramiden at the moment – they do some maintenance work and try to save the buildings from falling apart. Especially water is a big problem - in the spring, melted ice finds new ways through streets and under buildings.

They also collect a fee from the boats that use the quay , and charge 10 kr for each visitor. This is an official fee. As we approached town, one of the Russians offered to open the doors to some of the buildings for the sum of 20 kr per head. It was obvious that this was a private enterprise of his, so we declined.

Therefore, I have no indoor pictures. But William came here last summer, and got inside. Maybe I´ll dig out his photos and show you. I don´t think that much will have changed.

Another Russian. Left behind.


Pyramiden was abandoned in 1998, so it still looks fairly OK. The Russians had a very pleasant society here, apparently, but as the coal in the mines ran out, the authorities decided that everyone should leave – immediately. Lots of stuff were just left behind, as if the inhabitants were planning to come back soon.

Later, people have been visiting and wrecked stuff, and they´ve probably been helping themselves to souvenirs as well. So now the Russians have barricaded all the houses - windows and doors. There are rumours that they plan to renovate and reopen the hotel. Maybe they´ve realized the tourist potential of the ghost town, a potential the Norwegians discovered years ago.


Funny thing to se a Norwegian Post office sign here. As Svalbard is under Norwegian government, they (we) run the post service in the Russian settlements too. This one was closed, though.


But the bar was open. Birds only.


Pyramiden is nicely situated, this is the view towards Nordenskiöld glacier.


And towards Billefjorden.


Remnants of wall poster, detail. Art created by time and rough weather.









And then we left. A weird place.

Travelling out the fjord, we passed the Gipshuken mountain range.


And more rock. You learn to appreciate a good rock formation when you hang out with a geologist.



The whole trip to Billefjorden took around 9 hours, and if you ever come to Svalbard, I can certainly recommend it!