In this city … you are not allowed to die

Svalbard, a remote Norwegian region since 1925, is located between mainland Europe and North Pole. Although it consists of many islands, only three are inhabited. The capital Longyarbien, a city founded in 1906, hosts fewer than 2,500 people – less than the polar bears estimated at around 3,000.

Its geographical location so close to the North Pole means that the city is seeing a little more than 100 days a year. From the end of October to mid -February, the polar night is dominated, and due to the surrounding mountains, the first rays of light appear only in March.

Longyarbien is also one of the coldest residential parts of the world. The lower temperature recorded was -46.3 ° C in March 1986. Even in summer, temperatures rarely exceed 7 ° C, while in winter they move around -11 ° C to -13 ° C. The city is almost constantly snowy and during the polar night there is an absolute silence and darkness that lasts over 100 days.

On the contrary, from mid -April to the end of August, the area is experiencing the phenomenon of the midnight sun, with the sun constantly staying in the sky. This alternation between endless darkness and light greatly affects the lifestyle of the residents, who learn to live without the usual limits of day and night.

The city in which… you are not allowed to die

The isolation and peculiarities of the climate have led to unique local regulations. Among them is the ban on possession of cats, the imposition of limits on the alcohol market each month, and the obligation to bring a weapon for protection from polar bears when moving out of the settlement.

One of the most common myths about the city is that it is « forbidden to die » in Longyarbien.

Although technically this is not the case, as there is no law that says it is forbidden to die.

However, in fact, because there are no burial facilities for corpses (unless it is ash with a special license), people approaching the end of their lives are usually transferred to other cities in Norway to spend their last days there.

The reason for this policy goes back to 1950, when it was found that the victims of the 1918 pandemic influenza had not been decomposed due to the permanent frost. Today, there is a fear that these frozen dead may still host active viruses of that time, who killed millions of people worldwide in the early 20th century.