View of Smeeremburg Bay, Spitzbergen

A group of people admiring the view of the fjord and the winter landscape. This print is part of "Atlas Historique et Pittoresque", published in 1842-1852 for "Voyages de la Commission Scientifique du Nord" about the French scientific expedition La Recherche (1838–1840).

Smeerenburg, which, means "blubber town" in dutch, was the base of Dutch Whalers and sealers in the early 1600s, and later a base for the Danes and the British whalers and sealers. In the picture, we see the group in a churchyard, with several crosses and some coffins exposed by the wind and erosion. The deceased of these communities were buried in shallow graves since the permafrost made it impossible to dig deeper graves and we still can find graves that have been brought to the surface many places in Svalbard. All the graves on Svalbard are considered part of the cultural heritage, and there haven't been any new burials for over 70 years. Now there is, in fact, a law that determines that it is "illegal" to die on Svalbard.