Norway, Spitsbergen (00:07:51)

$190.00

Spitsbergen is the largest and only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago in northern Norway. The island was first used as a whaling base in the 17th and 18th centuries, after which it was abandoned. Coal mining started at the end of the 19th century, and several permanent communities were established. The Svalbard Treaty of 1920 recognized Norwegian sovereignty and established Svalbard as a free economic zone and a demilitarized zone.