Photos show life in the world's northernmost town, where it's dark for 4 months a year and polar bears roam freeNEWS | 10 October 2025Longyearbyen, Norway, is the northernmost town in the world.
Longyearbyen, Norway, is the northernmost town in the world. ginger_polina_bublik/Shutterstock
Longyearbyen, Norway, is the northernmost town in the world. ginger_polina_bublik/Shutterstock
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From the driest deserts to remote settlements on volcanic islands, human communities can be found anywhere on Earth.
One such community is Longyearbyen, where 2,400 residents live in the northernmost town in the world, approximately 818 miles from the North Pole.
Located in Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago between mainland Norway and the North Pole, the town has regular modern amenities like schools, restaurants, and stores.
However, it's unlike anywhere else on Earth.
For starters, it's dark four months a year and perpetually light for another four months. Secondly, it's suggested residents carry a rifle when traveling outside the town borders — in case they run into a polar bear.
Like many of the settlements in this part of the world, Longyearbyen was established as a mining town, though mining operations have since been phased out of the area.
Now, the town is a place of scientific research and adventure tourism — it welcomes tens of thousands of visitors each year.
The town is also the home of the famous doomsday seed vault, which houses seeds for every known crop on the planet, and yet Longyearbyen is so cold, it is unable to grow any trees of its own.
See what life is like for the people who live in this town.Author: Kristine Villarroel. Tom Murray. Enter Your Email. Source
