斯瓦尔巴群岛鬼城【人类动脉】第7期
戳上方蓝色字“英文杂志精选”关注我们哟
背景知识:
Pyramiden位于斯瓦尔巴德群岛之中,北纬78.39°。往南是北欧三国,往北就是北极点。苏联鼎盛时期,这里成为了一扇开向西方的「窗口城市」。苏联耗费了大量的人力物力财力,在这里修建房屋、医院、餐厅、文化、体育、娱乐设施等,使这里成为一座地球上最北边的宜居之地。
建设和装点Pyramiden的初衷,不只是为了满足基本生活需求。苏联更是想让它成为一个美学和意识形态的优良样板,因此在很多地方都加入了标志性的文化元素——巨大墙面上马赛克艺术作品,描绘着北欧神话和苏联英雄,等等。苏联人还在这里配备了图书馆、健身馆,甚至一个当年整个斯瓦尔巴德群岛最好的,室内游泳池。
Pyramiden远离俄国的管辖,它对俄国的地缘政治和战略布局并无特殊意义,但却不能没有它的存在——即便这里煤产量很低,苏联人,以及后来的新俄罗斯人还是选择继续保留着定居点,并努力使它「看上去很美」。
视频文本:
Situated above the Arctic Circle, Pyramiden is home to the ghostly remnants of a lost Soviet industrial way of life, frozen in time. This now abandoned mining town was established in the early 20th century on the Norwegian archipelago, Svalbard, and was named after the pyramid-shaped mountain that looms in the distance. A walk through this place is a step back in time to past Soviet glory. Remnants of Soviet culture, art and architecture still stand today. It is predicted that due to the low rate of decay in a frigid climate, the abandoned town’s major buildings will still be visible 500 years from now. That’s longer than any other modern settlement on Earth.
Note:
archipelago: 群岛
frigid: 寒冷的