Pyramiden

Facts last verified 2026-10-02

Pyramiden is a former Soviet coal-mining town on the west side of Billefjorden, a northeastern arm of Isfjorden. It is named after the pyramid-shaped mountain just north of the town. Mining stopped in 1998, but most of the buildings still stand as the residents left them. It is often called a ghost town, or a living museum.

A short history

A Swedish expedition claimed the area for its coal in 1910. In the 1920s Pyramiden was sold to Soviet interests, and from 1931 it belonged to the Soviet state mining company Trust Arktikugol. Arktikugol, now Russian and state-owned, still owns it today.

At its peak, Pyramiden was a model Soviet community, with a school, kindergarten, farm, greenhouse, hotel and restaurant. Around 600 people wintered there while the mine was running, and in the 1980s the population was over 1,000.

Arktikugol closed the mine in April 1998, after falling coal prices, difficult extraction and the Operafjellet air disaster. On 29 August 1996, a plane carrying Russian and Ukrainian miners back to work in Barentsburg and Pyramiden flew into the mountainside of Operafjellet, and all 141 people on board died.

What’s there today

The town looks as if it was abandoned in a hurry, with cups left on tables, newspaper cuttings on the walls and ski equipment in the hallways. A bust of Lenin still stands in the centre, facing the Nordenskiöld glacier (Nordenskiöldbreen) across the fjord.

Pyramiden isn’t counted separately in the population figures: on 1 January 2026, 392 people were registered as living in Barentsburg and Pyramiden combined. Arktikugol reopened Pyramiden’s hotel in 2013 and runs it seasonally.

Why local operators don’t go there

After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Visit Svalbard, the joint body for tourism in Svalbard, decided to remove all products, tours and services with any connection to the Russian state-owned companies in Svalbard from its platforms. It no longer offers ordinary tours to Barentsburg or Pyramiden, in summer or winter.

The reason is ownership. Tourism in the Russian settlements is run by Arctic Travel Company Grumant, which is wholly owned by Arktikugol and, in the local industry’s words, “an extended arm of the Russian state”. In practice, visiting the town itself mostly means using services from Arktikugol or Grumant.

How long this will last is uncertain, and depends not least on the situation in Ukraine.

Our approach: we follow the local industry. This guide doesn’t list or link to landing tours in Pyramiden. Below are trips run by local operators that let you see the town from the fjord.

Seeing Pyramiden from the fjord

Several boat trips from Longyearbyen go into Billefjorden towards Nordenskiöldbreen and pass Pyramiden on the way. Three options for 2026:

• Hurtigruten Svalbard, “Wildlife and Glacier”: a 7-hour trip by hybrid-electric catamaran that passes Pyramiden at a distance. It runs from 15 April to 14 October 2026, departing 08:15. Adults pay NOK 2,995, children under 14 NOK 1,695.
• Svalbard Adventures, “Fjord Safari to Nordenskiöld Glacier”: an 8-hour RIB trip for up to 12 people, with a landing elsewhere in Billefjorden, not in Pyramiden. It runs from 16 June to 31 August 2026 and costs NOK 3,150 per adult.
• Henningsen Transport and Guiding (HTG), “Fjordcruise towards Billefjorden”: an 11-hour trip on the enclosed boat MS Billefjord, with lunch on board and Pyramiden “in the far distance”. It runs in several seasons; contact HTG for prices.

All three head for Nordenskiöldbreen, so expect a glacier and wildlife day with Pyramiden on the way, not a town visit. How close you get depends on ice conditions.

Safety and rules

Pyramiden is a long way outside the Longyearbyen town limits, so the polar bear rules apply in full. You must carry suitable means of scaring off polar bears, and going with a local guide is strongly recommended. You must keep at least 300 metres from a polar bear, and 500 metres from 1 March to 30 June.

If you plan to travel independently, check whether your route goes outside the travel area around Longyearbyen. If it does, you must apply to the Governor of Svalbard at least four weeks in advance and carry search and rescue insurance. See Polar bear safety and Longyearbyen for details.