Gruve 3

Get an insight into Longyearbyen’s past! Our town, Longyearbyen, would most likely not exist if it wasn’t for the American, John Munro Longyear, who travelled to Svalbard in the early 1900s and a few years later opened Gruve 1 [Mine 1]. Today, you can join us on a tour in Gruve 3 [Mine 3] as we go back in time. A car or bus will pick the guests up at the different hotels and guest houses in town. A bus or car will take you safely to the mine, a 10-minute drive from town. Up at Gruve 3 you will walk through the facilities where the machinery and equipment were left behind when production stopped. Each of you will be kitted with a helmet, headlamp and coverall, ready to begin your mining adventure. During the tour you will have the option to crawl on the very low working height the miners experienced daily. Due to the height of the mine, old-fashioned techniques were applied to mine and extract the coal. The tour culminates by walking into a main tunnel that was excavated in the 1970s. We promise an exciting tour which will give you a taste of the old days in Longyearbyen as well as an insight into the future of coal mining on Svalbard and for the Norwegian coal company, Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani. Grab a piece of coal on your way out and bring home a locally produced souvenir.