Why Pyramiden in Svalbard is not the World’s Northernmost Town?

When researching the fabled extremes of the Arctic by expedition ship, one name often crops up in travel blogs and history books: Pyramiden. With its eerie, frozen Soviet buildings and dramatic mountainous backdrop, it feels like the last outpost on Earth. But despite its remote appearance and notoriety, Pyramiden is not the world’s northernmost town. That title belongs to a neighbouring settlement on the same Arctic archipelago: Longyearbyen.

I recently returned from a trip to Longyearbyen and noted on a local map that Pyramiden looked further north. Still, the lack of network coverage prevented me from researching further online. This left me to ponder the question and jump into studying it on my return.