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Calypsobyen Maria Curie-Skłodowska University Polar Station By permission of the Governor of Svalbard, the old mining settlement of Calypsobyen, located on the southeastern shore of Bellsund and dating back to the early 20th century, has become the base for UMCS polar expeditions. According to Norwegian law, which protects all traces of human activity on Spitsbergen before 1946, this settlement—consisting of several wooden buildings in varying states of preservation—holds the status of an open-air museum of industrial architecture. Furthermore, as Calypsobyen, like the entire northwestern part of Wedel Jarlsberg Land, is protected as part of the Southern Spitsbergen National Park, there are significant restrictions on human presence and various forms of activity in the area. Respecting these regulations, members of UMCS polar expeditions carried out necessary renovations on the buildings to create suitable living and research conditions. Efforts were made to preserve the original appearance of all structures. In recent years, increasing responsibility for building maintenance has been assumed by Norwegian gubernatorial authorities.
The settlement's name originates from the HMS Calypso, which visited and explored the Bellsund area in 1895 as part of the British Royal Navy Training Squadron. The oldest structure is Building (C), known as "Camp Jacobsen" (Strandhuset, Michelsenhuset), or the "Otter House," located off to the southeast. Originally covered with birch bark and turf, it was constructed in 1901 by participants of an expedition financed by businessman and politician Christian Michelsen, later Prime Minister of Norway. This building is also considered one of the oldest structures associated with mineral extraction history on Svalbard. In the early 20th century, it was seasonally used by trappers as a base.
Most of the structures surviving in Calypsobyen today were built between 1918 and 1919 by the Northern Exploration Company (NEC), which attempted coal mining here. The endeavor proved unprofitable due to the poor quality and thinness of the coal seams. In subsequent years, NEC hired trappers to overwinter in Calypsobyen, where they also hunted Arctic foxes, seals, and bears. Between 1922 and 1928, five trapping winters were recorded in the former mining buildings. During the mine's operation, Building (A) served as a utility structure but was later adapted into a residential building with two added interior rooms. After renovations and adaptations by participants of the first expeditions from Lublin in 1986–1987, it became their main residence. In winter, residents of Longyearbyen often use the station during snowmobile excursions.
Building (B), originally residential, now serves as a storage facility. It consists of one large room, two smaller rooms, and an annex housing a generator. Other structures related to NEC include a small building (D) containing remnants of a forge and the nearby telegraph building (E) on a high terrace, equipped with a fallen radio mast. During World War II, it was used by the Germans as a radio station. Separately, in 1918, trapper Birger Jacobsen built another structure (F). From 1930 until the evacuation in 1941, trapper Ole Blomli overwintered there annually, giving rise to the name "Blomlihytta." The last trappers to winter there were S. Olsen and J. Bakherud in 1969–1971. Participants of Lublin expeditions used the building as a hydrochemical laboratory. It was renovated by Norwegians in 2010. Around the settlement are remnants of mining equipment (railway tracks, wagons, boilers, wheelbarrows, and various metal elements), a transport barge (G) named Maria Theresia, and several destroyed boats. The mine adit is now collapsed. A modern landmark of Calypsobyen is the capstan (I), created by J. Zajączkowski ("Rabbit") in 1989.
Author: Dr. Piotr Zagórski, Associate Professor at UMCS |
