Ingebrigtsenbukta

Cabin Bamsebu surrounded by whale bones

Ingebrigtsenbukta is a bay at the south shore of Van Keulenfjorden. The bay is approximately 3 km wide, running from Kapp Toscana in the west to Ålesundneset in the east. The bay was named after Norwegian whaler Morten Andreas Ingebrigtsen. [1]

Ingebrigtsenbukta is part of Sør-Spitsbergen National Park.

Whaling station

Boat of the whalers

A whaling station was established around 1930 by Ingvald Svendsen at the western part of Ingebrigtsenbukta, near Kapp Toscana. The whalers hunted exclusively for belugas. It is the only remaining beluga whaling station in Svalbard.[2] Thousands of beluga bones are still piled on the beach as silent witnesses. In 1977 the number of individual whales on the beach was estimated at 550.[3]

Surrounded by whale bones stands a wooden cabin, Bamsebu, which is still in use. The door and the windows have long protruding nails to prevent bears from breaking them. Near the cabin are a small store house and an overturned wooden boat (named Kjeftausa) that was used for shelter and storage. On the beach are three smaller wooden boats, also overturned.[2][3]

The cultural remains are protected.

Geology

Kapp Toscana lends its name to the Kapp Toscana Group, a group dating from Late Triassic to Middle Jurassic.[4]

References

  1. Norsk Polarinstitutt. Place names in Norwegian polar areas: Ingebrigtsenbukta. Version 16 Sep 2011
  2. 1 2 Bjørn Fossli Johansen (ed.) (2009). The Cruise Handbook for Svalbard.
  3. 1 2 Adam Krawczyk (1995). Remains of human activity in north-eastern Wedel Jarlsberg Land, Spitsbergen. In: Wyprawy Geograficzne na Spitsbergen (Janina Repelewska-Pekalowa and Kazimierz Pekala, eds.), pp. 55-73.
  4. Winfried K. Dallmann (editor) (1999). Lithostratigraphic Lexicon of Svalbard

Coordinates: 77°33′10″N 15°04′15″E / 77.55278°N 15.07083°E / 77.55278; 15.07083

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