Ny-Ålesund, Oscar II Land, Spitsbergen, Svalbard, Norway

The town was founded in 1917 by Peter Brandal and his mining company, Kings Bay Kull Comp. Initially mining was carried out until 1929, but it was unprofitable for most of the 1920s. There were a series of air expeditions launched from Ny-Ålesund towards the North Pole. The company was nationalized in 1933 and the town was for some years used for tourism and as a fishing port. Mining resumed for some months in 1941 and then from 1945. After several other fatal incidents occurred including a mining accident on 5 November 1962 that killed 21 miners in what became known as the Kings Bay Affair, saw mining terminated and Gerhardsen's Third Cabinet's resignation. Kongsfjord Telemetry Station opened in 1967 and the town gradually transformed into a research settlement. Since 1992, foreign institutions have been permitted to build permanent stations in town.