Virgohamna
Encyclopedia
Virgohamna is a small bay on the northern coast of Danskøya
, an island off the northwestern coast of Spitsbergen
, the main island of the Svalbard
archipelago. The bay is named after the S/S Virgo, the vessel of Swedish
engineer and explorer Salomon August Andrée
's 1896 expedition.
The Dutch
were the first to use Virgohamna as a whaling
base as early as 1633 (perhaps earlier). The Dutch overwinterers in 1633-34 referred to it as "Houcker Bay". In 1636, with no room being available along the beach at Smeerenburg
, the newly added Friesland
chamber of the Noordsche Compagnie
established what was later called the Harlingen kokerij ("Cookery of Harlingen"). By 1662 the ships from Harlingen
had found little use for the station, with the merchants of the original charter offering other Dutch whalers its use for a certain fee. The German
surgeon Friderich Martens
visited the (by then) abandoned station in 1671, where he found four buildings still standing, "whereof two were warehouses, in the others they dwelt". There he found tools and barrels frozen up in the ice. Archaeological
excavations have found the remains of five buildings and two double-ovens belonging to the station. Another station was found on Æøya (named after the common eider
s that reside there), a small island on the eastern side of the bay.
It was here, in 1896, that S.A. Andrée built his balloon house. Adverse winds forcing Andrée to return home on his first attempt to reach the North Pole
by balloon, he returned to Virgohamna in the summer of 1897. He left the bay early in July in what would be a fatal attempt to reach the pole
.
In 1906, American
Walter Wellman
built an airship hangar and base camp in the bay. The hangar wasn't completed until August, forcing Wellman to return the following summer, where he again failed in his goal to the North Pole by airship. Wellman returned to Virgohamna once more in 1909; he again failed to reach the pole.
Danskøya
Danskøya is an island in Norway's Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. It lies just off the northwest coast of Spitsbergen, the largest island in the archipelago, near to Magdalenefjorden. Just to the north lies Amsterdamøya. Like many of Svalbard's islands, Danskøya is uninhabited...
, an island off the northwestern coast of Spitsbergen
Spitsbergen
Spitsbergen is the largest and only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago in Norway. Constituting the western-most bulk of the archipelago, it borders the Arctic Ocean, the Norwegian Sea and the Greenland Sea...
, the main island of the Svalbard
Svalbard
Svalbard is an archipelago in the Arctic, constituting the northernmost part of Norway. It is located north of mainland Europe, midway between mainland Norway and the North Pole. The group of islands range from 74° to 81° north latitude , and from 10° to 35° east longitude. Spitsbergen is the...
archipelago. The bay is named after the S/S Virgo, the vessel of Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
engineer and explorer Salomon August Andrée
Salomon August Andrée
Salomon August Andrée , during his lifetime most often known as S. A. Andrée, was a Swedish engineer, physicist, aeronaut and polar explorer who died while leading an attempt to reach the Geographic North Pole by hydrogen balloon...
's 1896 expedition.
History
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
were the first to use Virgohamna as a whaling
Whaling
Whaling is the hunting of whales mainly for meat and oil. Its earliest forms date to at least 3000 BC. Various coastal communities have long histories of sustenance whaling and harvesting beached whales...
base as early as 1633 (perhaps earlier). The Dutch overwinterers in 1633-34 referred to it as "Houcker Bay". In 1636, with no room being available along the beach at Smeerenburg
Smeerenburg
The settlement of Smeerenburg on Amsterdam Island in north-west Svalbard, originated with Danish and Dutch whalers in 1619: one of Europe's northernmost outposts.-Reality:...
, the newly added Friesland
Friesland
Friesland is a province in the north of the Netherlands and part of the ancient region of Frisia.Until the end of 1996, the province bore Friesland as its official name. In 1997 this Dutch name lost its official status to the Frisian Fryslân...
chamber of the Noordsche Compagnie
Noordsche Compagnie
The Noordsche or Groenlandse Compagnie was a cartel for whaling, founded by several cities in the Netherlands...
established what was later called the Harlingen kokerij ("Cookery of Harlingen"). By 1662 the ships from Harlingen
Harlingen
Harlingen may mean:* Harlingen, Netherlands, a municipality and city in the province of Friesland* Harlingen, Texas, a city in the United States* Harlingen, New Jersey, an unincorporated village in Montgomery Township, New Jersey, United States...
had found little use for the station, with the merchants of the original charter offering other Dutch whalers its use for a certain fee. The German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
surgeon Friderich Martens
Friderich Martens
Friderich Martens, was a German physician and naturalist who conducted the first scientific observations of the nature, animal life and climate of Svalbard...
visited the (by then) abandoned station in 1671, where he found four buildings still standing, "whereof two were warehouses, in the others they dwelt". There he found tools and barrels frozen up in the ice. Archaeological
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
excavations have found the remains of five buildings and two double-ovens belonging to the station. Another station was found on Æøya (named after the common eider
Common Eider
The Common Eider, Somateria mollissima, is a large sea-duck that is distributed over the northern coasts of Europe, North America and eastern Siberia. It breeds in Arctic and some northern temperate regions, but winters somewhat farther south in temperate zones, when it can form large flocks on...
s that reside there), a small island on the eastern side of the bay.
It was here, in 1896, that S.A. Andrée built his balloon house. Adverse winds forcing Andrée to return home on his first attempt to reach the North Pole
North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface...
by balloon, he returned to Virgohamna in the summer of 1897. He left the bay early in July in what would be a fatal attempt to reach the pole
S. A. Andrée's Arctic balloon expedition of 1897
S. A. Andrée's Arctic balloon expedition of 1897 was an ill-fated effort to reach the North Pole in which all three expedition members perished. S. A. Andrée , the first Swedish balloonist, proposed a voyage by hydrogen balloon from Svalbard to either Russia or Canada, which was to pass,...
.
In 1906, American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Walter Wellman
Walter Wellman
Walter Wellman was an American journalist, explorer, and aëronaut, born at Mentor, Ohio, and educated in the public schools.- Biographical background :...
built an airship hangar and base camp in the bay. The hangar wasn't completed until August, forcing Wellman to return the following summer, where he again failed in his goal to the North Pole by airship. Wellman returned to Virgohamna once more in 1909; he again failed to reach the pole.