Moffen is a small island on 80 degrees north, which is one of the reasons why it is relatively famous. It is completely flat and not exactly an eye-catcher from the distance.
Seawater can reach most parts of Moffen during heavy storms. Most of the area is accordingly vegetation-free. Only near the southern tip, there is an area which is surprisingly green. Here, walrusses were slaughtered in large numbers during several centuries. Thousands of bones are bleaching in the sun, and it is not exaggerated to call this place a walrus graveyard.
Walrusses were protected in Svalbard in 1952, and since then, the population has been recovering slowly. Walrusses are commonly seen resting on Moffen. During the summer, the island and surrounding waters are protected.
Huts are places of longing, dreams and adventure in Spitsbergen’s beautiful landscape. Even if the modern visitor’s eye may mostly be directed towards nature, most will have an open ear every now and then for exciting survival stories about explorers and expeditions, adventurers and trappers.
These huts are silent witnesses and and every one of them tells a little part of the whole story. The little book “Svalbardhytter” and the poster that is part of the same project make these fascinating places accessible for everyone.
From remote ruins, just traces in a few cases, to “famous” trapper huts such as Fredheim in Tempelfjord and Bjørneborg on Halvmåneøya, the war weather station Haudegen, the former scientific base Würzburger Hütte on Barentsøya and Hammerfesthuset, Svalbard’s oldest building.