Barentsburg and Esmark Glacier

We are heading for Barentsburg on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday. Pick-up from hotels and guesthouses in Longyearbyen starts at 08:30 and we will leave the harbour at around 09:00.

Come a long on a trip with us to see Svalbard and its amazing Arctic landscape form the sea side. We take you out from Longyearbyen and head towards Barentsburg, which is the second largest town on Svalbard. The population here consists of almost entirely of Russians and Ukrainians. And there is about 500 people living there. The town used to be self-sufficient, but has now become dependent on Russia for food supplement. In the glorious days when it was under Sovjetunionen, the town was a display for the communism in the artic. But when the system collapsed and the supplement did no longer come, the city ​​decayed and a dramatic downsizing was a fact. In the latest years there has been huge changes in the city. Hotels and other buildings has been renovated and the town is jet again developing. 


On our way to Barentsburg we have a short stop in front of the Esmark Glacier. 
Esmak Glacier is located on Oscar II Land and is about 15 kilometer long. It is named after the Danish geologist Jens Esmark (1763-1839) Then we arrive to Barentsburg, where we will be in harbour for abourt 2 hours. There are 250 steps you have to walk to get from where the boat is, up to the town. While you are there it is recommanded that you make a visit to the little chapel on the top, that where made as a memory for the people that died in the Operamountain accident (1996). Also a visit to the souvenir shop is recommended before heading back to the boat.


After visiting this town the boat will take you by the Grumantcity and Birdcliff. The Grumantcity is an abandoned sovjet-russian settlement that was abandoned around 1962. Earlier this was a mining town, but because of hard conditions with the harbor and a decrease in the production the mining where closed.  On our way over there you will get served a delishes warm lunch on the aftdeck.