The main period for Norwegian winter trapping and hunting in the Arctic was the first half of the 20th century. This original trapper’s hut was constructed in Svalbard in 1910 to house a overwintering equipped by fur trader Claus Andersen from Tromsø. In the years that followed, the hut was used by several trappers who overwintered there before being transported to the Norwegian Maritime Museum in 1936.

The cultural monuments in Svalbard include material traces of the overwintering in the form of huts, traps and objects left in the landscape. As the trappers had specific trapping territories, they had a main cabin or base station in the middle and several smaller huts within a day’s walk. This way, they could trap over larger areas.

Most of the trappers’ huts are no longer in use and, as many have been lost over time, a considerable amount of work has been done to document them. Consequently, along with diaries, journals and other written material, the cabins are of important historical value, and portray the everyday life of a trapper that is in sharp contrast with the life we lead today. For this reason, the Svalbard Environmental Protection Act automatically protects huts built before 1946.

Last changed: 02.03.2023 15.15