Barentsburg
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Barentsburg
(bä`rəntsbo͝org), town, Spitsbergen island, Svalbard, Norway. Though tourism is increasingly economically significant, Barentsburg was originally a coal-mining settlement, established (1912) by a Norwegian company. The mines have been worked by the Dutch (1921–26) and after 1932 by the Russians. It was totally destroyed (Sept., 1943) by German battleships but quickly rebuilt.The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia™ Copyright © 2013, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/
The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.
Barentsburg
a mining community and port on Vest-Spitsbergen Island (Svalbard, Norway). It is picturesquely laid out on the shore of Gront Fjord, a southern branch of Isfjorden. The population is about 600. There are coal mines (concessions of the USSR) and a museum of polar lore. The town is named in honor of the Dutch navigator W. Barents.
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.