Beware: polar bears! When you approach the edge of Longyearbyen, this stark warning leaps out from official signposts. And it is no joke: On the archipelago surrounding the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen, there are many more polar bears than people. For safety reasons, tourists are only allowed to leave the town accompanied by an armed guide.

Longyearbyen itself is a small piece of civilization in the middle of the Arctic Ocean. A visit to the northernmost permanently inhabited settlement in Europe is therefore a truly extreme experience.

Arctic adventure

Mountains, glaciers and barren landscape dominate the scenery for as far as the eye can see. There are no trees, and there is in fact hardly any green vegetation at all. Longyearbyen lies at a latitude of 78 degrees north, around halfway between the Norwegian mainland and the North Pole, and belongs to the archipelago Svalbard. Between the end of October and the middle of February the sun no longer makes it over the horizon on this group of islands, which spend months deep in the polar night.

Unsurprisingly, it's also cold: even in midsummer the temperatures here rarely climb above 5 degrees Celsius (41 degrees Fahrenheit). But none of this daunts the roughly 2,100 inhabitants of the former mining town — nor those tourists who find their way here. You feel nature more closely, more directly and more pristinely here than in any other place in Europe.

Life under extreme conditions

DW reporter Nicole Frölich also had this experience. For the series "Europe to the Maxx" on the culture and lifestyle magazine "Euromaxx," she explored Longyearbyen and found out how the inhabitants of Europe's northernmost settlement deal with the challenging conditions on Spitsbergen. How do they protect themselves from the polar bears? And how do they grow vegetables in a place where the ground is permanently frozen? Learn all this and more in the video, imbedded left.

Icy discoveries on Spitsbergen

The region around Longyearbyen offers an abundance of unique experiences. In winter you can go on an expedition by snowmobile or dogsled, while in summer it's possible to take several day hikes on the glaciers. Or you can travel by boat to the impressive icebergs in the nearby fjords, where whales can often be observed. Sometimes, even the dance of the Northern Lights in the night sky can be seen. And if you are even luckier, you might get to see the king of the Arctic on one of your trips near Longyearbyen: the polar bear. But remember, always keep your distance!

Service tips:
Address: Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen, Norway

Getting there: Travel to Longyearbyen by air or boat from Oslo or Tromsø

Special Tip: At Gruvelageret restaurant in a former warehouse you can trace the tracks of Longyearbyen’s mining past. The Norwegian royal family has also dined here.

The accompanying book

Europe at its most extreme: the series "Europe to the Maxx" in DW's lifestyle and culture magazine "Euromaxx" makes Europe's superlatives real — from extraordinary architecture to spectacular landscapes to unique cultural phenomena. Accompanying the series, the book 111 extreme places in Europe that you shouldn't miss was published in cooperation with Emons Verlag. It's an alternative travel guide, both informative and entertaining — one for avid travelers, fans of Europe and anyone who likes to show off with unusual pub quiz trivia. Full of guaranteed record breakers!