Isfjord Radio

The former radio station in Isfjorden, which was the only means of communication between Svalbard and the mainland in the 20th century, is now a beautiful wilderness hotel.

The diesel generator used to maintain the hotel facility was replaced by renewable energy in 2021.

The former radio station as well as an adjacent lighthouse was built by the Norwegians before World War II under pressure from the Soviet Union. The main task, besides communication with the mainland, was to help ships enter the Isfjord in difficult ice and weather conditions.

In 1941, the entire facility was burned down as part of the evacuation of Svalbard. The radio station was rebuilt in the same location in the years after the war and served its purpose until 2004, when a fiber optic cable was laid from Norway to Svalbard, making the radio station obsolete.

In 2007 the facility was renovated and turned into the beautiful lodge with great cuisine and exquisite wine list in the middle of the vast wilderness of Svalbard that it still is today.