Brucebyen, Svalbard

Brucebyen, Svalbard

Brucebyen is an abandoned mining settlement in Billefjorden on Spitsbergen , Svalbard . It was created in 1919 by the Scottish polar explorer William Speirs Bruce , under the auspices of the company Scottish Spitsbergen Syndicate Ltd.

Brucebyen is today a cluster of houses with three workers' barracks and an outbuilding, as well as the remains of a railway down to the sea. The purpose of the settlement was to map the coal deposits in the area. Brucebyen was abandoned after a few years, while the coal deposits in Pyramiden on the other side of Billefjorden proved to be viable.