Tourists who visit Pyramiden today have the impression of being in a gigantic set. The old wooden barracks, the greenhouses, the stables, the monument to the miners, the bust of Lenin, the homes and the administrators’ building continue with the same appearance as in 1998 when their owners decided to put an end to the exploitation of the coal deposits. The polar cold and the weather have contributed to keeping this ghost town intact, which had more than 1,500 inhabitants in the 1950s. Located on the island of Spitsbergen, in the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, Pyramiden today belongs to Norway. It was once a domain of the Swedes, who decided to exploit the coal mines in 1910. The name of the place responds to the pyramid-shaped mountain, very close to the town that was built to extract the mineral from the subsoil. In 1927, the facilities were sold to the Soviet Union. Four years later, Stalin decided to create a state company called Arktikugol Trust, to which ownership of the site and all dependencies was transferred. Pyramiden, today, is still owned by that company that still exists and maintains its mining businesses. There is no doubt that coal extraction had strategic importance for Stalin in the 1930s. But the Soviet leader also wanted turn Pyramiden into a symbol of industrial development and the modernity of Soviet communism. That was the reason why greenhouses were built to grow vegetables, stables for livestock, a heated swimming pool, a large sports complex and housing blocks for miners. And all this with the architectural aesthetics of Stalinism that evokes the buildings erected at the time in Russian cities, full of icons of the regime. One of the most notable curiosities is the magnificent grand piano that is preserved in the cultural center, where They gave concerts and staged theatrical performances. The guides who show the facilities joke that it is the northernmost piano in the world. If it is not true, it is well brought up. After more than 80 years of history, the Yeltsin Government decided at the end of the last century to close the operation due to its lack of profitability. In 2009, Arktikugol and some Russian investors built a new hotel, the Tulip, in an attempt to attract tourism. A place was also set up as a museum with photographs and belongings of its former inhabitants. And staff were hired to explain the history of the place. The hotel, which offers Arctic excursions, is still open. Gosplan statistics show the prosperity of Pyramiden in its heyday. Because coal provided abundant and cheap energy, its heated greenhouses produced tomatoes, lettuce, onions, peppers and cucumbers for all its inhabitants. In 1965, vegetable production amounted to almost 6,000 kilos. Their chickens produced more than 100,000 eggs and their cows produced about 50,000 liters of milk. Cattle were also slaughtered to supply its inhabitants. After more than 80 years of history, the Yeltsin government decided at the end of the last century to close the farm due to its lack of profitability. He took advantage of a breakdown in the heating system to announce the liquidation of the business. Its hundreds of workers were unemployed and many of them sought employment in Norway or returned to Russia. Within a few months, the enclave was completely abandoned. Today only half a dozen former workers still live in this town, anchored in the past and the nostalgia of the Soviet ‘paradise’. It is not surprising that some people still resist leaving the old mining town, located at the foot of a mountain range that remains with snow throughout almost the entire year, in a wild area of extraordinary beauty. A place where oblivion lives, but not indifference.
#cold #solitude #Arctic
