Pyramiden - A Soviet Ghost town at 79 degrees north

  • Heros of the Great Patriotic war (World War II). Photo: Thomas Nilsen
  • Final match in the sport hall was long ago. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
  • Visitors can today step inside the buildings in Pyramiden. Like this sport hall. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
  • Pyramiden is situated 50 kilometers north of Longyearbyen. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
  • ".... our northern," reads half of the photo-collection poster left on the wall in the palace of culture. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
  • The red tower of this town sign sculpture is made of old water-pipes from the coal mine. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
  • The grand piano is an original "Red October" (Красный октябрь). Photo: Thomas Nilsen
  • Imagine a Saturday evening when the palace of culture was packed with coal miners listening to classical music. Or maybe there was an Arctic version of Pyotr Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake ballet on stage? Photo: Thomas Nilsen
  • Soviet fairy tale illustration on the wooden fence outside the school. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
  • The blocks of flats are well preserved by the Arctic climate. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
  • Likely a door to heaven for the coal miners. The sign reads "Beer Bar", but the last pint was emptied 20 years ago. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
  • No more water in the world's northernmost swimming pool. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
  • One lonely ice-skate left in the window. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
  • The mechanical workshop for the coal mine. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
  • The entrances to the coal mine are up in the mountain above the town. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
  • ... and yes, it is also the world's northernmost bust of Lenin. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
  • Yes, lots of children lived in Pyramiden, a well functioning family society. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
  • Where people once lived, birds have now taken over. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
  • Svalbard is famous for its bird-watching sites. Although this "bird-cliff" is somehow special. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
  • Why the town was named Pyramiden? Well, take a look at the nearest mountain. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
  • Comrade Lenin has a great panorama view over the town with the Nordenskiold glacier in the background. The town is still state-owned and maintained by the Russian mining company Arktikugol Trust. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
  • From the shafts, the coal was transported to port via this structure. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
  • Coal loading crane in the port of Pyramiden. Operated by the Russians, but Svalbard is Norwegian land. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
  • Nice playground under the Arctic sun, but image how it was to be a child here during polar night. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
  • USSR-Norwegian friendly connections. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
  • Hammer and Sickle, the symbol of the Soviet Union. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
  • Pyramiden even had its own cowshed. Nothing's like a fresh glas of milk after a long night in the coal mine at 79 degrees north. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
  • With a bit of luck you may meet an Arctic fox in between the abandoned buildings in Pyramiden. A bit curious, and not too afraid of humans if you keep a distance. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
  • The hospital. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
  • Children's reading book over a dusty version of the transcripts from the 27th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1986), the first congress presided over by Mikhail Gorbachev as General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
  • Outdoor sport stadion named after Yury Gagarin, the first man in space. Football field in summer, ice-skating rink during winter. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
  • In times of climate changes, Pyramiden coal power plant provided both heat and electricity. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
  • Pyramiden was abandoned in 1998, but the houses are still in rather good shape and are maintained by Arktikugol Trust (Арктикуголь means Arctic coal). Photo: Thomas Nilsen
  • "Kuzbass" is another important coal region for Russia. Pyramiden heliport in the background. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
  • Seems like this building is sad not to house people anymore. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
  • Soviet-style Arctic art made of mosaic on the wall in the cantina. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
  • Really large cooking pots in the cantina. For the coal miners. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
  • Twelve-past-we-left-the-town. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
  • Some plants are thirstier than others. For this one, it is too late. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
  • The party is over. For good. Priviet (hello) vodka. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
  • The main (and only) avenue in Pyramiden is named after the 60th anniversary of the October revolution. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
  • "No smoking". Photo: Thomas Nilsen
  • Map of the world on top of the world. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
  • Pyramiden coal harbor. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
  • Long time ago, in Pyramiden, a green indoor plant decorated the cantina. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
  • The world's northernmost Palace of Culture. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
  • Once upon a time the world's northernmost kindergarten (rigth) and school (2-storey building). Photo: Thomas Nilsen
  • Part of the port facility in Pyramiden. The Nordenskiöld glacier across the fjord. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
  • Pyramiden is located in Billefjorden, an appendix fjord in the innermost part of Isfjorden. Photo: Thomas Nilsen