Barentsburg, Norway – Travel Guide

Barentsburg is a small mining settlement on the Norwegian island of Svalbard in the Arctic Ocean that lies on the beautiful shores of Grønfjord. The settlement lies around 60 kilometers from the main town of Svalbard called Longyearbyen. 

Barentsburg is home to around 500 mine workers who are all employed by Trust Arctickugol, a Russian state-owned mining company. The town is pretty basic but it does have all the infrastructure needed for life in the Arctic. There is a hospital, school, a few hotels, a sports center, and even a cultural center. 

Barentsburg was once just a mining town but today it’s also open for tourism thanks to the opening of the Arctic Travel Company which runs the hotels, guesthouses, pubs, and restaurants in the town. 

A trip to Barentsburg is all about arctic exploration, a dip into Russian history and culture, tasting the traditional food of the area and, of course, visiting the mines themselves.