In the remote Arctic town of Longyearbyen, located on the Svalbard archipelago, there’s an unusual law: dying is illegal. This isn’t the plot of a dystopian novel—it’s a practical response to the town’s extreme environment. With permafrost covering the ground year-round, bodies buried in Longyearbyen don’t decompose. Instead, they remain preserved, creating a host of problems for the living.
The ban on dying was introduced in the 1950s after locals discovered that corpses buried during the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic were still intact, with the virus potentially viable. In a place where the ground is permanently frozen, traditional burial methods don’t work. To prevent health risks, the town requires terminally ill residents to relocate to mainland Norway for their final days.
Longyearbyen’s unique climate also affects daily life in other ways. The town, home to about 2,000 people, experiences polar night (24-hour darkness) from late October to mid-February and midnight sun (24-hour daylight) from April to August. The permafrost makes construction challenging, and polar bears outnumber humans, requiring residents to carry rifles when venturing outside town limits.
Despite its harsh conditions, Longyearbyen is a vibrant community with a university, art galleries, and even a film festival. The town’s quirky laws, including the death ban, have made it a magnet for curious travelers and researchers.
So, next time you complain about your town’s rules, remember Longyearbyen. It’s a place where even death has to follow the law—and where polar bears are the real neighborhood watch. And if you ever feel like life’s too short, take comfort: in Longyearbyen, it might just last forever. Just don’t plan on staying after you’re gone. Some towns are picky about their residents—alive or otherwise.
