The Russian settlement of Pyramiden was intended to be the ideal mining town, providing everything a miner and his family would need to have a good life. In many respects the concept was a success with the layout of the town including an indoor swimming pool, school, library and hospital. Women and children became commonplace and jobs were in demand. However, the prosperity was not sustained and in 1998 Pyramiden was abandoned.
Unlike Barentsburg, the fall of the Soviet Union is not the main reason for the decline. In many respects it’s the harsh arctic conditions that led to the settlements defeat. Most of the year, the town’s harbor is frozen which makes bringing in supplies and ships to retrieve the coal a costly operation. This on top of the coal being difficult to extract led to the decision to abandon the town.
Walking around Pyramiden, we got the feeling that the inhabitants were ordered to leave without much warning. Shriveled houseplants line the windows giving the impression that at any moment the settlement might spring back to life. While the scattered children’s toys and the empty swing set make it easy to imagine the laughter that used to fill the air.
The only people who live there now are a few caretakers, a job that is given to loyal workers at Barentburg as a reward for their service. They are supposed to be fulfilling Russia’s obligation to remove equipment and generally clean up the area but the number of workers is small compared to how many it would take to complete such a task. For now Pyramiden remains nothing more than an intriguing curiosity.
Visit my Picasa Web Albums for more photos of Pyramiden and the Doors of Pyramiden.
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