The city where you can not die, and on which the future of the planet depends (4 photos)

Longyearbyen is the northernmost settlement in the world, located on Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard. The place became famous for two unrelated seemingly facts. Here, almost at the borders of the settlement, they roam polar bears and there are even special signs warning about this. It is also forbidden to die in Longyearbyen.





Historically, this is due to the fact that bodies in permafrost and on do not decompose in such a frost, attracting the attention of those same bears - in case of their burial or accidental death on the street.

They say there was also a ban on people going out into the street without guns (although judging by modern photographs, at least with a tourist this is not required). As well as a ban on keeping cats at home - apparently, small animals also attract a white predator.



There is also an understandable restriction on alcohol in this context. – there is a ban on the quantity sold per person during month. There are not so many people (the population of Longyearbyen is about 2 thousand person), so it's easy to track.

It is clear that man forbids, but God disposes - so anything can happen. But in any case, all the local dead are being taken for burial on the "mainland", they do the same with seriously ill people. This is enshrined in law.





The city itself is named after the American businessman John Longyearbyen, who founded a coal mine here at the beginning of the 20th century and settlement for workers. Literally 10 years later, in 1916, all this together was sold to the Norwegian company Store Norske.

By the end of the century, there was little coal left - now it is enough only for the local power plant. The state has invested in the development of tourism and research activities.



As one of the results - it was here, under the auspices of the UN, that an underground World Seed Vault was built, the purpose of which - save the seeds of various plants in case of a global disasters. Apparently, it is believed that there is nothing for seeds in permafrost. will. So the future of the planet depends on this city in case what.