Russian mining village on the island of Western Spitsbergen. One day in the life in the abandoned village of Pyramid (Arctic, Spitsbergen archipelago). Communication in the Pyramid

The settlement was founded by the Swedes in 1910. It deserves its name because of the pyramid-shaped mountains surrounding it. The main occupation of the population was coal mining.
In 1927, the territory on which the settlements were located, along with the coal mines, was sold Soviet Union. Between 1960 and 1980 the population reached 1,000 people, however, starting in 1988, people began to leave the settlement and by 2000 it was completely deserted.
Now you can only get to the Pyramid by boat or snowmobile.

In the vast far north there is a place that for many years symbolized the parity of world systems, socialist and capitalist. It was here that the northernmost frontier of the Cold War took place, and it was here, in this sterile, pacifying cold, that “potential opponents” got along for a very long time, worked and even fell in love. The country of sharp mountains, Spitsbergen, also known as Svalbard, was, as it were, no one’s. Moreover, the sons of the Soviet people on this land had almost more rights than the subjects of Norway, the legal owners of the archipelago. Here was the longest ruble.

It all started with the fact that in 1912 Russian polar explorers found more than 30 deposits of good coal on wild, useless Svalbard. The countries, weakened by the world war, began to divide the archipelago, and in 1920 they agreed: no wars, only work! Since then, not a single cruiser has the right to moor here (there are weapons on the islands to scare polar bears).
At the turn of 1920-30. Eighty square kilometers of land were purchased by the USSR from the Swedes, and mines and mining settlements began to be built here. The most famous of which is the village (and now “ghost town”) Pyramid, next to the mine of the same name and a kilometer-high mountain.

Over the 60 years of existence of the once mighty Arktikugol trust, Pyramid, the northernmost mine in the world, gave the country almost 8 million tons of coal - expensive, unprofitable, but “light”. It did not appear “on the mountain”, but rolled down the mountain. The money ran out and the last ton of black gold was mined on March 31, 1998. The last trolley is still waiting for something. But there's nothing to wait...

Since then, both the mine and the town at its foot are dead. To put it in clerical language, they are mothballed. Some of the workers returned to the mainland, abandoning everything except their savings; others got a job at a mine in Barentsburg. Instead of the previous 1,100 inhabitants, there are now usually thousands of noisy seagulls and five people: one “hermit” who has taken on the role of a tourist guide, and four workers who prevent the houses from falling apart.

IN Soviet times the Pyramid had everything a Soviet man needed: good salary, scarce products, and even the world's northernmost basin. There are a lot of options for cultural leisure. A cultural center with a cinema, a library, a sports complex where dumbbells, exercise machines, balls remain...

It's 79 degrees north latitude here and it's always very cold. However, Soviet biologists acclimatized mainland lawn grass in the Pyramid to brighten up the tired looks of miners on a long polar day.

Sometimes in summer there are tourists here, who are usually brought by water from Longyearbyen. The trip takes two hours, exploring the town takes the same amount. For a dromomaniac photographer, this is a frozen polar paradise. It is officially prohibited to enter houses and touch anything inside, but, as they say, if you don’t get caught, you don’t...

That's why artifacts are often stolen - “as a souvenir.”

The future of the ghost village is uncertain. Norway is introducing strict environmental laws, so there is no talk of any revival of coal mining. In general, the Russian Federation is now not up to the Pyramid. Businessmen see this very well, and someone is planning to mine and dry sea medicinal algae here. And someone wants to build a tourist complex for lovers of skiing and dog sledding. There is somewhere to turn around.

In the meantime, perhaps the main attraction of the ghost town is the Pyramid, the world’s northernmost monument to Ilyich. The stone leader indifferently surveys the distances of unfinished communism.

Background information about the Pyramid village will close automatically in a few seconds

This term has other meanings, see Pyramid.

Pyramid(Norwegian Pyramiden) is a Russian mining village on the Western Spitsbergen Peninsula of the Spitsbergen archipelago. On this moment preserved.

Story

The settlement was founded by the Swedes in 1910, and in 1927 the village became Russian. The population in the 1960-1980s was more than 1000 people, high-rise capital buildings, a swimming pool, a library, a winter garden and a shallow port for receiving coal were built. Russian geological exploration data at the mine, however, turned out to be erroneous, and by the early 1990s, coal production fell sharply. On March 31, 1998, the last tons of coal were raised and the mine was closed. In total, 8.5 million tons of coal were extracted from the mine.

As a result, in the 1990s, Arktikugol employees left the village. In 2000 it was permanently closed.

The difficulties of the Arktikugol concern with the formation of a development policy were absolutely reflected in the Pyramid. Despite repeated statements of interest in resuming production at the open-pit mine, no active actions have been taken in this direction and sovereign estimates of the profitability of the Pyramid are unknown. In addition, the Pyramid, despite its successful placement inside the archipelago, was unable to attract research stations following the example of New Alesund, and capital buildings of Russian times in the 21st century were unclaimed.

The lack of a clear policy for diversifying the Russian economic presence is very well illustrated by the fact that out of more than 800 million rubles in city subsidies planned for the concern in 2008, Arktikugol was able to allocate funds for the work of only 1 tourist (paid) guide and several workers to support The Pyramid buildings are in good condition. In addition, in 2009 a summer hotel with meals appeared on the Pyramid

The village received its name because of the pyramidal shape of the mountain, at the foot of which it was founded. The distance to the capital of the archipelago, Longyearbyen, is about 50 km to the south in a straight line. IN summer time A Norwegian tourist ship sails to Pyramid from Longyearbyen, alternating flights with a call at Barentsburg.

Notes

^ Pyramid

Centime.. more

Barentsburg is a Russian village on Spitsbergen.
Grumant is a Russian village on Spitsbergen (mothballed).
Longyearbyen is the largest Norwegian village on Spitsbergen.
Ny-Ålesund is a Norwegian international research center in Svalbard.

Gallery

Centime.. more

The northernmost settlements in the world

V. D. Trifonenko (Technical Director of Arktikugol) “Polar Mail” No. 1(3) February 1992

Polar archipelago Svalbard
Basics	Geography · Story · Population · Climate · Vegetable world · Education · Religion · Policy · Spitsbergen Treaty · Kings Bay Case · UNIS
Transport	Svalbard Airport · Ny-Ålesund Airport · Svea Airport
Companies	Bjornoen · Kings Bay · Store Norske · Arktikugol · Aeroflot (1973 - 1994) · Vnukovo Airlines (1994 - 1996) · Lufttransport · Scandinavian Airlines
Communications and media	Svalbardposten · Internet domain.sj · Svalbard Subsea Cable System
Settlements and NIS	Barentsburg · Longyearbyen · Nybyen · Ny-Ålesund · Sveagruva · Belsheoya · Virgohamna · Hamburg bay · Grumant · Itre Norskoya · Colesbay · Kobbefjord · Leagerneset · Pyramid · Sverdrupbyen · Smerenburg · Norwegian Polar Institute · Yellow River · Himadri · Hornsund
Islands of the archipelago	Barents Peninsula · Peninsula White Like Snow · Western Spitsbergen · Bear Peninsula · Peninsula of Hope · Prince Charles Peninsula · Northeast Land · Group of 7 islands · Edge Peninsula
Geographical objects	Adventdalen · Adventfjord · Belsund · Billefjord · Valenbergfjord · Vanmuiden bay · Vanmienfjord · Verlegenhukenfjord · Westfonna · Vijdefjord · Woodfjord · Land of Olav V · Isfjord · Kronebrin · Cape Kremer · Miserifjellet · Nordenskiöldbreen · Kapp Linne · Kapp Payer · Kongsfjord · Crossfjord · Lifdefjord · Mandalenfjord · Mount Opera · Ostfonna · Galileo Peak · Newton's Peak · Perrier Peak · Platoberget · Freeman Strait · Hinlopen Strait · Raudfjord · Reshershefjord · Sassenfjord · Seyp · Sörkapp · Storfjord · Tempelfjord · Forlandsundet · Hotellneset · Ceres · Chadwick · Ekmanfjord · Engelshbukhta
National parks	Indre-Vijdefjorden · Nordwest Spitsbergen · Nordenskiöld Land · Nordre Isfjorden · Sassen-Bünsow Land · Sør-Spitsbergen · Forlande
Attractions	Global Seed Vault · House-memorial of Rusanov's expedition · Museum "Pomor" · Norwegian Arctic Museum
Support the Svalbard Project with new articles

The pyramid is located 120 km north of Longyearbyen, Norway; it was the world's northernmost coal mine. The prefix “the northernmost” here can be substituted for everything: “the northernmost monument to Lenin” or “the northernmost swimming pool in the world” and so on, whatever your imagination allows. In 1998, coal mining ended and the village was mothballed. In the 1980s, up to 1000 people lived in the village; when Lebedev visited this place in the 2000s, only a crazy German lived here. Due to the special status of Spitsbergen (any state could conduct economic activity there), the Soviet Union tried to make this village a real showcase of communism; the Norwegians were jealous of how luxuriously a citizen of the USSR lived. It was real paradise, getting here was considered real luck.

The pyramid is located in picturesque place at the foot of a mountain whose shape resembles a real pyramid overlooking the Nordenskiöld glacier. During the difficult crisis years of the conservation of the village, when no one remained in the Pyramid for the winter, vandals ruled here. The Norwegians came on snowmobiles and took away everything that could be taken away. For example, in the Kroa bar in Longyearbyen there is a bust of Lenin, it is just from the Pyramid. The city could have become another ghost town, like Pripyat in Ukraine, but we came to our senses in time and are now trying to breathe life into the city new life due to tourism.

Ghost town Pyramid on Spitsbergen // elnarperm.livejournal.com

And now a little history. There is constant debate about who was the first to discover this polar archipelago. The Pomors of Spitsbergen have been known as "Grumant" since the 15th century; at the entrance to the harbors, the Russians left wooden crosses with the names of those who erected them. The Pomors left traces of settlements, there is no doubt - they were the first to engage in fishing on the distant island of Spitsbergen. Radiocarbon dating of the objects shows that they are much earlier in time than the Viking journeys to these lands. The Norwegians, of course, claim the opposite. Allegedly, the Pomors arrived much later and brought with them old utensils and used centuries-old logs in the construction of houses, so radiocarbon analysis does not count :) Ours claim that the Vikings only sailed to Bear Island, which they called “Svalbard,” i.e. cold earth in Norwegian. The question is quite political.

Officially, the island was discovered by the Dutch navigator Barents, who was looking for the shortest route from the Atlantic to Pacific Ocean. The discovery of new islands led to the fact that whaling companies settled here; what’s more, the bowhead whale produced 1.5 tons of baleen and 30 tons of blubber!

// elnarperm.livejournal.com

The British and Danes were the first to declare their territorial claims to this land. Unlike Western Europeans, our people felt great on Spitsbergen, built camps and spent the winter in harsh conditions. Norwegians actively began to appear at the end of the 19th century, the land was officially recognized as “no man's land” just at this time. Question about legal status islands was supposed to be resolved in 1914 between Russia, Norway and Sweden, but due to the First World War the issue was returned to only in 1920, the Soviet Union was not invited to the Paris Conference, but the possibility of Russian rights to use natural and other resources was spelled out in the agreement before the USSR joined the treaty. The treaty itself recognized Norway’s sovereignty over the islands, but the Norwegians pledged not to build military bases and fortifications on the islands, and now the most interesting thing: “citizens of all countries that signed the treaty, on an equal basis with Norwegians, have the right free access to the archipelago for shipping, industrial, commercial and commercial transactions on conditions of complete equality.

In other words, the islands actually belong to Norway, but any company or any citizen can live on the island and use its resources. A unique situation!

Ours in 1924, we joined the agreement, bought land, which were managed by the Arktikugol company, its task was simple - to provide coal northern part Russia. Until 1941, two mines operated - in Barentsburg and Grumant, and a third village - Pyramid - was built. Every day the ships departed for Murmansk and Arkhangelsk. During the war, all workers were evacuated to the north of England, and after the war, in 1946, the first miners and builders arrived, restored two villages in 3 years and completed the Pyramid in 1956.

So, it turns out that we had three settlements, the first is Grumant, which was mothballed in 1961, the miners say that when the coal runs out in other places, they can return here, the explored reserves will last for a long time. The second village is Barentsburg, an active village with the Russian Consulate, a swimming pool, a school and other infrastructure, I will write about it later. The most interesting is the third mine, Pyramid.

My first story will be about him.

And it all started with this issue of "Russian Reporter", in 2009 I read the article "The Archipelago NO WAY" about this place and caught fire. I knew I'd get here. Necessarily

// elnarperm.livejournal.com

Our ship is in the port, the Russians call it the “polar girl”, the port of registration is Tromsø, in the winter it takes athletes to the fjord mountains, in the summer it takes tourists to the Pyramid and Barentsburg.

// elnarperm.livejournal.com

The most important thing is to be lucky with the weather, then 3 hours of sailing will seem like a pleasant walk. In total, two ships carry it to the Pyramid in the summer.

// elnarperm.livejournal.com

Barents, the discoverer of the island, wrote this: “The land along which we sailed was hilly and elevated, but they were not mountains, although the hills looked like sharp spiers, so the land was piled on Spitsbergen.”

// elnarperm.livejournal.com

Northern nature is gorgeous, of course

// elnarperm.livejournal.com

Guide Vadim talks in Norwegian and English about the animal world and the history of the island. Basically, half of the tourists are from mainland Norway, the rest are a complete hodgepodge of Germans, French, and Americans.

// elnarperm.livejournal.com

Approaching the Pyramid

// elnarperm.livejournal.com

Buildings, view from the water

// elnarperm.livejournal.com

We are met by a bus and a tour guide, Sasha from St. Petersburg, a colorful character with a “moose” gun. You can’t go without a gun; polar bears are extremely dangerous animals. I wonder what murder polar bear is being investigated by the police, shooting can only be done in self-defense, which still needs to be proven. The role of the police is performed by the governor from Norway or, as he is called here, the Susselman. The punishments and fines here are severe, they say that in times of famine, our people killed deer, and they were with chips, and the Norgs (that’s what the Norwegians are called) immediately flew in by helicopter and tied everyone up. The fines are scary!

Svalbard is a place where the modern Norwegian way of life and the Soviet way of life coexist. There are three Russian villages on the territory of the archipelago, one of which is active - Barentsburg, and the rest have the status of “mothballed/abandoned”.

I want to tell you about one of them. We will talk about the legendary coal village of Pyramid. “Ghost town”, “the northernmost coal mine in the world”, “a fragment of the Soviet system in the Arctic”, “northern frontier” - no matter what they call this place, which has been lost in time and gives foreigners who come here the opportunity to feel like they are in the Soviet Union, and the residents of the CIS - to plunge into the past, from which they barely had time to wean themselves.

Why Pyramid?

Everything is very simple - the village is located at the foot of a pyramid-shaped mountain. The Norwegians call it in their own way Pyramiden, but this name was given to it by the Swedes, who were the first to begin coal mining activities here. With a very strong desire and the necessary equipment, you can climb to the top of the Pyramid and look at the village and the mine from above, which goes deep into this mountain, but you must have a guide with a gun with you, because due to the proximity of the Pyramid to Billefjord, where seals live , the likelihood of meeting a polar bear here increases sharply.

The same mountain thanks to which the village received its name

History of the Pyramid

In 1910, the Swedish company Spetsbergens Svenska Kolfalt received permission to mine coal in the archipelago, and a year later equipped a mine for this purpose. I must say that geologically this is not the most easy place for coal mining. The mine is located in a hard-to-reach place at an altitude of half a kilometer, which makes this type of work very complex and energy-intensive. In this regard, 16 years later, in 1927, a Swedish company sells the territory of the village of Pyramid along with everything that is on it. In 1931, the Soviet state trust Arktikugol became the owner of this 47 sq. km site. From this year until now, it is the only Russian company that leads economic activity in the Norwegian archipelago of Spitsbergen.

Plan diagram of the village of Pyramid

The Soviet Union decided not to use the Swedish mine, but, with its usual scope, began to build its own. In 1941, having managed to rebuild the mine itself and the infrastructure around it in the village, all residents were removed from the village due to the outbreak of World War II in the Soviet Union. During the evacuation, the coal warehouse and all equipment were destroyed by the inhabitants of the Pyramid.

After 1946, life in the Pyramid begins to resume. For these purposes, 609 polar explorers were brought here, and already in 1947 the first street appeared here, which started from the port and led to the village. The Soviet Union spared no expense in reviving the Pyramid; everything was done on a grand scale. Multi-storey buildings were built here for families, women and men (in the best Soviet traditions, men lived separately from women). The women's house was called "Paris", and the men's house was called "London". Library, hospital, greenhouses, large sports complex with swimming pool, heated sea water, hotel, dining room for 200 seats, livestock farm and many other industrial and technical buildings. The pyramid was the most northern village on the Spitsbergen archipelago and closest to the North Pole. And if you also take into account that this territory is located in permafrost, then you can imagine how much effort had to be made in order to erect all these buildings.

the main street in the Pyramid is called “60th anniversary of October”

Coal mining was in full swing and already in the 1950s about 70 thousand tons of coal were mined. In order to increase production, in 1956 the second Severnaya mine was opened, from which, according to the project, 235 thousand tons of coal could be extracted per year.

A mine that goes deep into the mountain, and at the top there is a rock in the form of a pyramid

By 1980, the population here numbered more than 1000 people. The village is gaining incredible popularity due to the high level of salaries. Literally everyone in the Soviet Union knows that if you work in the Arctic, you can earn new apartment, so the competition for jobs is crazy. You can get a job in the coal village of Pyramida only through great connections through good friends.

Residential buildings in Pyramid

Hotel "Tulip"

The rule to leave your gun outside applies throughout the Svalbard archipelago

The Pyramid houses the northernmost monument to Lenin in the world

However, the process of collapse of the Soviet Union will have an extremely negative impact on the Pyramid. By that time, coal as a mineral will greatly depreciate in the market. And the costs of maintaining such a distant territory will no longer be affordable for the Soviet government, so the number of miners and their families is gradually decreasing. Transporting coal to the continent becomes very expensive, so they decide to store its entire supply locally, in the village. The condition of the mines requires major repairs, especially after endogenous (underground) fires that have not yet been extinguished. However, the Pyramid is trying to “survive” for another 7 long years after the collapse of the Soviet Union. But in 1997, a decision was made to close the mines and mothball the entire village.

The buildings in the Pyramid look different depending on the lighting. Here, for example, is the port on a sunny day. Nothing at all

And here is the same port, but in a snow storm. Looks a little scary, doesn't it?

The coal sorting room looks very gloomy. It's like a set for a thriller or horror movie

The rest of the industrial buildings don't look any better.

There is a lot of equipment left in the kitchen in the dining room

The kitchen had a lot of capacity to feed an entire miner's village.

A large mural of the Arctic hangs in the dining room.

There were always a lot of books in the Pyramid

Sometimes you come across books that you can't put down

Despite the fact that the bulk of the books were transported to Barentsburg, interesting copies can be found in the Pyramid

Most buildings are prohibited from entering. But our guide, who worked in the Pyramid, still had the keys to the dining room and the cultural center

Sports complex with swimming pool

There is a cultural center Gym where you can develop your physical spirit

Music studios were also present in the Pyramid

The cultural center often hosted performances by local groups.

The distance between Pyramid and Barentsburg is 120 km, so sports competitions were often held between the villages

These posters are still kept in the cultural center

There was a notice board in the dining room where people were buying and selling things.

Since goods from the continent sometimes had to wait a very long time, such boards helped to get the necessary goods

Where would we be without her, my dear?

In March 1998, the last ton of coal was produced from the Severnaya mine, and now this legendary trailer, filled to the brim, stands at the entrance to the village. During operation, this mine produced 8.8 million tons of coal, which accounted for 57% of the total volume of the entire mine. Due to the closure of the mines, all its inhabitants were taken to the continent or to Barentsburg.

The last trailer with coal is at the entrance to the village

Plane crash on Spitsbergen

Another factor in favor of closing the village was worst plane crash on Spitsbergen, when in 1996 a Russian Vnukovo Airlines TU-154 aircraft, performing chartered flight"Moscow-Longyearbyen" crashed into Mount Opera. There were 141 people on board - mostly miners for the Pyramid and Barentsburg mines and their families. All crew members and passengers were killed. The cause of the plane crash was the inexperience of the pilots who made this flight. The fact is that after the collapse of the USSR, there were constant delays in the payment of salaries, and the crew of the flight that usually flew to Spitsbergen refused to work. Therefore, they hired completely new pilots who did not know the terrain near Longyearbyen airport. This led to a disaster that is still considered the largest in terms of the number of victims in the entire history of Norway. In memory of this sad event, a wooden church, which is open around the clock.

The pyramid in our time

The village stood in a mothballed state for 11 long years, when the Russian authorities decided to revive life in this in a distant land. The fact is that the “ghost town” became a desired destination for many Norwegian tourists who wanted to “touch” the Soviet Union, which they had only read about in books. In 2009, a decision was made to “re-open” the Tulip Hotel so that visiting tourists would have a place to stay overnight. The hotel opens a full-fledged restaurant-bar. The entire interior has been preserved in the classic Soviet style; they decided not to modify it. By 2016, some of the hotel rooms were renovated, and the second part was left as is, because for the opportunity to spend a night in a “Soviet room”, Norwegians and other foreigners are ready to shell out a large sum (in 2018, a room in the “Soviet” style cost 100 euros per night, and refurbished – 120 euros).

You can order a lot of strong drinks at the bar alcoholic drinks, including regular vodka. The more Soviet symbols, the better

The same goes for the restaurant menu - all the names have been preserved from Soviet canteens. Here you will find the Gorbachev omelette, the Student cutlet, Russian pancakes with caviar, and Ukrainian borscht with sour cream. All products are transported from another Russian village on Spitsbergen - Barentsburg. They also accept orders for overnight stays at the hotel or group tours to the Pyramid. During the polar summer (from late March to early October), up to 20 service personnel can live in the village - these are cooks, guides, cleaners, waiters, the head of the village, and stokers who heat all the buildings with coal reserves. In winter, about 3 stokers remain in Pyramid, and since no one goes to the village in the polar winter, a supply of food for these workers is left in the fall.

Pancakes, but not with caviar

We can safely say that there are many more animals in the Pyramid than people

Arctic foxes here are tamed by stokers, but it is better not to touch them with your hands - they can carry rabies

Around the Pyramid on the ice you can find many tracks of polar bears. They often enter the village, so you shouldn’t walk alone without a gun

The reindeer are not at all embarrassed by the abandoned status of the Pyramid; they are here on their own territory

Communication in the Pyramid

It is at this place that you can try to catch the signal of the Norwegian operator mobile communications. Someone hung up a telephone as a joke

My impressions of the Pyramid

We spent 3 days and 2 nights in the Pyramid, and my impressions were very mixed. On the one hand, this is unique place, which has no analogues in the world, where you can feel forgotten by everyone on the edge of the earth. On the other hand, if you are a socially active person, then the Pyramid will be a real torture, since a limited circle of people (with whom it is not always possible to make friends) and a complete lack of communication will make staying in the village almost unbearable. Therefore, everyone decides for himself whether he could live in complete isolation or not. But the fact that this place will not leave you indifferent is one hundred percent. Therefore, if you have such an opportunity, then visit this “ghost town” at the end of the earth while it is still in the form in which it was left.

Pyramid - preserved Russian village on Spitsbergen. Until 1998, this was the site of the world's northernmost coal mine. After many years of operation, it was closed due to a combination of circumstances: a fire in the mine and the difficulty of extinguishing it, the default of 1998, small remaining coal reserves, and in connection with all this, the unprofitability of restoration work.

“Mothballed,” as opposed to “abandoned,” means that sooner or later people will return to developing the village. And it seems that this time is slowly coming. To revive the Pyramid and turn it into tourist area Arktikugol renovated the hotel, partially restored the heat and water supply networks, and sewerage. A restaurant has been opened, new thermal boilers and a diesel station have been put into operation, and there are three guest houses for tourists in the port. By the way, quite a few of them are already coming: not only the preserved buildings from Soviet times are interesting, but also the unique location of the Pyramid.

Polar bears often come into the village. There is a known case when a bear snuck into a hotel, found a bar, drank a couple of beers and gobbled up some nuts. They kicked him out with the whole world, threw chairs and sticks at him, but the clubfoot really liked it in the new warm den. After this incident, the hotel bar offers a “Polar Bear Pack” of two cans of beer and nuts.

Let's now take a closer look...

Look how beautiful it is in the port of Pyramid. This is the view when looking at the port from the mountain:

And if you look at the fjord, it opens up against the background of buildings beautiful view to the glacier:

Despite the apparent proximity, the glacier is more than 15 kilometers away. Due to the crystal clear air, distances are not felt at all:

There is an area near the port where there is cellular coverage. People come here to call and check the weather forecast on the Internet. For convenience, a booth with a telephone set was placed here (it is, of course, not working, just hanging for ambiance and decoration):

Guests are greeted by smartly dressed guide Alexander. It is he who leads all the tourists who come to the Pyramid and maintains the village in order. I’m wearing a suit, which we always wear during boat trips. If suddenly something happens to the boat, you can live in the water for 48 hours in this robe:

Excursion:

There are paths along the Pyramid, raised one meter from the ground. This was not done for beauty - communications lie under the flooring. During the Soviet period, due to the heat of heating networks, snow and ice did not accumulate on the “boxes” and they were used as sidewalks:

10.

During the polar night, the paths were illuminated with lanterns:

11.

Alas, there is still a lot of work on the Pyramid. If you move a little to the side, you can see the old destroyed communications of the village and the mine.

By the way, the management of Arktikugol will be glad to have volunteers who come to the Pyramid to improve the territory. Applications must be submitted on the website http://www.goarctica.ru:

12.

Tablets from the past:

13.

The village got its name from the mountain of the same name, the top of which is very similar to a pyramid. We'll get to it in the next post:

Previously, this was a dormitory for family employees, and today the building is known as the “House with Seagulls”:

16.

There are whole hordes of them here. Birds perceive walls and windows as ledges in rocks and make their nests here:

17.

18.

Panorama of the village from a quadcopter. In the foreground is a house with seagulls, to the left is a hotel. The alley behind them is the former residential buildings of the village and the main street:

19.

View from the ground. The houses on the alley are painted, all the glass is in place, everything inside is left as it was in the 90s. The houses are all closed, there are locks on the doors. Some of them can be visited with a guide during an excursion:

20.

21.

The communications of the former mine stretch upward under the clouds - rails for lowering coal and a funicular for employees:

22.

Old Arktikugol billboard. It indicates 79 degrees, although in reality, the Pyramid does not “reach” 79 degrees for about 20 minutes or about 35 kilometers. The latitude at which the Pyramid stands is 78"40:

23.

Vladimir Ilyich. I suspect this is the most northern Ilyich in the world:

24.

Sports complex. In the next post we will go inside:

Suddenly an arctic fox came to us. This sign alerted us. Then they explained to us that the arctic fox had come to the village a long time ago: almost every house has their den:

26.

In 1910, Swede Bertil Högbom received permission to mine coal 120 kilometers from the Barentsburg mine in the depths of the mountains at half a kilometer above sea level. In 1911, construction and equipment of the mine began. This marked the beginning of the emergence of the Pyramid:

The road goes beyond the village. There are artificial lakes there - an artificial reservoir from where water is collected for drinking:

28.

The river bed is now dry, but in spring and during rains this entire space is filled with water:

30.

Old water intake:

31.

From here you can clearly see Mount Pyramid:

32.

I'm sure you didn't immediately guess that previous photo inverted reflection of a mountain in the water. Lake-reservoir:

33.

These things are called hydro-needles. They artificially froze the ground so that water from the lake would not seep through the soil during the summer thawing of permafrost:

Now they are not working, but the water is still standing in the reservoir:

35.

The village was built taking into account the experience gained during the construction of Barentsburg and Grumant. According to the Norwegian King Harald V, who visited the Pyramid in 1995, it is “one of the pearls of the entire archipelago.” It's hard to disagree with this:

37.

In the next post we will look at the houses from the inside and climb the mountain. Stay Tuned!

38.