As a ghost town of the Soviet Union in the Arctic Circle, the pyramids stand alone.

People say that the pyramid town in the Soviet Union was abandoned overnight. In fact, however, desertion occurred within a few months. However, tourists who arrived at the pyramids in the autumn of 1998 have reason to draw this conclusion. In this newly emptied town, withered plants are placed on the windowsill; The shelves in the cafeteria are full of clean dishes; There are neatly folded sheets on the beds of the former residents. The equipment used in coal mining-the reason for the existence of this town-is where the workers left it, and they are ready to go back to work at the press of a button. It's as if hundreds of people suddenly stopped what they were doing and just walked away.

The residents, however, never came back. Today, the town still stands as it did when the last man left. The pyramid is located in Svalbard, an archipelago between Norway and the North Pole. It can be reached by boat from mid-May to early October, when there was no sea ice in the waters bordering the town. But in the whole cold winter, three months were swallowed up by 24 hours of darkness, and there were only occasional wandering polar bears in the pyramids. The purpose of exploring the pyramids is to return to the heyday of the Soviet Union. Soviet culture, architecture and politics penetrated into this town, from block houses to busts of Lenin, the statue of the northernmost municipal revolutionary in the world, staring at the main square of the pyramid with fatherly pride. However, to truly appreciate the city, visitors should be familiar with its impressive rise and mysterious decline.

This western Soviet town

Svalbard's unique history makes the existence of the pyramids possible. Since the 17th century, Arctic islands have been intermittently used as bases for whaling and walrus capture. However, by the beginning of the 2th century, people's interest had shifted to coal mining. Before that, the islands did not belong to any country, and the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Britain and other countries were free to use them. In 192, the situation changed A few countries, including Norway, the United States and Britain, formulated the Svalbard Treaty, granting Norway the right to Svalbard. However, Russia was excluded. Steve Coulson, an Arctic ecologist at Svalbard University Center, said: "Russians are always uneasy about this, because when they signed the treaty, they were engaged in a civil war and were a little forgotten." He has worked and lived there since 1991.

, but Russia has not completely lost its luck. The Svalbard Treaty stipulates that not all Norwegian laws are applicable to the Islands, and all signatories to the Treaty have equal rights to develop and engage in commercial activities in the Islands. In the end, Russia and more than 4 other countries quickly became signatories,

more than any other signatory countries. Norway and the newly established Soviet Union especially seized the opportunity to develop business pursuits in Svalbard. In 1926, Norway established Longyearbyen, which is the most populous town in Svalbard today, with about 2, residents. In 1936, the Soviet Union obtained the right to use the pyramids (named after the pyramid-shaped mountains looming above the valley settlements) and the Barent *** urg coalfields. Trust arktikukogol, a state-owned coal company founded in 1931, assumed the responsibility of these businesses and took over the ownership of the pyramids and Barents Castle. The loading dock of the pyramid, where tourists come in and out today. (Photo: Rachel Noor) Residents have enjoyed hundreds of movies and shown them in the auditorium of the municipal center. (Photo: Rachel Noor) Overlooking the dusty Arctic community center. (Photo: Rachel Noor) The old music room. (Photo: Rachel Noor) Coal mining at the edge of the pyramid. (Photo: Rachel Noor) The northernmost statue of Lenin. (Photo: Rachel Noor) A jersey, probably worn in a basketball game in town. (Photo: Rachel Noor) You can see the Odensky Glacier in the town square on N Street. (Photo: Rachel Noor) The mine bath is just one of the coal mine ruins left in the pyramid. (Photo: Rachel Noor) Photo of former residents found in the community center. (Photo: Rachel Noor) A withered plant landed in the cafeteria. (Photo: Rachel Noor) The town museum displays local animal and plant specimens. (Photo: Rachel Noor)

Living in the high north

At first, the pyramids were a sleeping place with almost no residents. But after World War II, the Soviet Union allocated more money to this town. They built dozens of new buildings, including a hospital, an entertainment center called the Cultural Palace and a large cafeteria, and painted the Svalbard landscape where Norwegian legendary heroes lived with a huge mosaic. All buildings adopt typical Soviet block style with rounded edges to reduce the influence of cold wind.

in the 198s, the height of the town was over 1 people living in the pyramids. Residents were assigned to different residential halls and soon got their own nicknames. London is a paradise for single men, and Paris is a paradise for a few unmarried women who come to the pyramids (there is also a bar on the first floor of the women's building). This crazy family home is named after the children often play in the corridor. Finally, Gostinka ("hotel" in Russian means "hotel", although it is not a hotel) lives in short-term workers. Over the years, the pyramids have also established a permanent resting place for residents who have encountered unfortunate endings, and built cemeteries for people and cats.

' s Russian colleague told Coulson that the Soviets regarded pyramid contract as a promotion and privilege. In the pyramids, the quality of life is much more important than in some parts of the mainland. There is a library, a weightlifting room, a basketball court and an auditorium in the Cultural Palace. There are a row of comfortable red seats in the auditorium for performing and showing movies. There are 5,38 empty glass bottles in this "wine bottle house", which provides a unique place for residents to relax and drink. Music is also important. The grand piano in the northernmost part is a red beer mug, which was shipped along with many other musical instruments such as keyboard and accordion. A playground equipped with swings, slides, a small jungle gym and a football field is installed and used in summer, and the indoor heated swimming pool in the pyramid is the best in Svalbard. Coulson said, "The children near Longyearbyen used to go swimming there." . "It was quite impressive at the time."

aesthetics is also very important. Because of its dramatic mountain background and the nearby Nodensky Glacier and East Fjord, the pyramids have a natural "wow" factor. However, up close, the North Pole is a notoriously dusty, brown place. Soil nutrients are too poor to support the life of many plants, and muddy erosion is a long-term concern. In order to solve this problem, the Soviet Union imported a lot of soil from present Ukraine. These soils have laid a solid foundation for the largest beautification project in the Arctic: the construction of a huge artificial lawn. These efforts have been successful. In the summer months, the grassy square of the pyramid blooms bright green, and residents further beautify it with sunflower lawn decorations.

Imported soil is also used in greenhouses, where residents grow tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, peppers and decorations. Coulson said that this almost self-sufficient town raises pigs, chickens and cattle by itself, and all the electricity comes from coal mined by workers.

"It was originally an ideal Soviet society." . "This is a small town where foreigners can go without a visa, so it is the best exhibition in the Soviet Union."

Heinbirk, an archaeologist at Trondheim University of Science and Technology in Norway, has fond memories of visiting the pyramids and laughing together in late summer. It was their last day at the pyramid. "They asked me to take pictures of them," he recalled. "I wish I had that photo now."

finally, on October 1th, just before the ice arrived, the last permanent resident left. Coulson said: "This town has just been built and disappeared. For many years, the residents of Barents Castle have taken some surplus machines from the pyramids for themselves and regarded this ghost town as a warehouse for random supply. But there are still countless relics, from the contents of the small museum in the town, to the costumes of past dance performances, and then to more than 1 rolls of film. Prudnikov said: "It is impossible to take everything from the settlement, just because it took 5 years to bring it." In 26,

, bjork spent a week exploring, filming and recording this abandoned town together with photographer Erin andresen and archaeologist BjorNulsen. During that week, they camped at the former Tulip Hotel (which reopened in summer) and cooked with a paraffin camping stove every night. Andresen said, "We were three people together, but we didn't talk much. "It was a very thoughtful moment, and I somehow relaxed."

This is the first time that bjork visited the town many times when there were people living in it. He was able to venture into the private rooms of the residents. The walls are still covered with maps, natural or animal clippings from magazines, thumbtacks and stickers that say "* * *", "Puma" and "Brooklyn". Many people made homemade wind chimes and decorations with paper clips, plastic bottles, ropes and cardboard, which proved the DIY mentality of the town. Bjork said: "For me, if I don't have a hanger, I will throw my jacket on the chair-I won't do it myself." . Andresen added: "But the wardrobe is full of homemade hangers made of wires."

"Soviet society has always been so hidden from us in the west." . "But now we can go anywhere and even see private places that you are not usually allowed to see." In the end, they decided to pile up their discoveries and ideas about the pyramids in a book, Eternal Memory.

When bjork came back in 21, he found that many decorations and relics had disappeared, or others were destroyed and thrown to the ground. Similarly, the contents of many public buildings have also been destroyed, especially in the administrative building, where bookshelves were overturned, documents were scattered all over the floor, and the director's desk was overturned. Although tourists may take some items as souvenirs, bjork suspects that the workers in Barents Castle are the culprit. Bjork said: "The director is a very tough person. If he is not satisfied with what they have done, he may hit someone on the head." . "I think this destruction is a kind of revenge for the workers, who came back from Barents Castle."

Although some items have been in disrepair for a long time, the scenery is still intact. Despite the frequent floods in spring, imported soil and grass have managed to make people live longer than residents. However, different kinds of eastern residents still live here. Last year, Coulson discovered several exotic mites in the soil of the central square of the pyramid, including some mites known to occur only in southern Russia and Ukraine. On the other hand, local mites are almost completely excluded from this area.

in other cases, Svalbard's native species have taken over. Every summer, seagulls nesting scramble to feed on the windowsill and raise young birds. Their cries can be heard everywhere in this abandoned town. Polar bears also pass by from time to time, so they must always carry rifles or gun guides. However, despite the influx of animals, the pyramids will not be completely recovered by nature soon. Compared with warm places