Pyrmamiden is an abandoned Russian coal mining town on the island of Svalbard in the Norwegian high Arctic. After originally being handed over by Sweden in 1910 to Russia, the industrial complex was shut down in 1998. Russia maintains a presence on this island archipelago, but lack of funding from Moscow and the tragic loss of the town's women and children in a plane crash are believed to have led to its closing. It remains a virtual ghost town to this day.
